Q24N (Refugees International) The Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama remains one of the most dangerous migration paths in the world and more people are risking their lives to cross it.
Migration through the Darien Gap has increased tremendously over the past four years and crossings are likely to continue at a high level. Despite a brief reduction this summer, likely due to the anti-migrant posture of the new Panamanian government and the elections in Venezuela, numbers in the Darien are now increasing again.
Repression in the wake of the July 28, 2024 election in Venezuela has already led to an increase in out-migration, which is notable as Venezuelans currently make up the majority of those transiting the Darien. Enforcement measures and rhetoric from the government of Panama may have temporarily deterred migration into Panama, but not for the long-term. Initial numbers published by Panamanian migration authorities for September 2024 indicate a 51 percent increase in migration compared to August.
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Meanwhile, the increased emphasis on migration deterrence in Panamanian government policy, reinforced by U.S. migration cooperation priorities, is worsening humanitarian conditions for people traversing the gap and exposing highly vulnerable migrants to avoidable exploitation and harm. Worryingly there has been a seven-fold increase in the number of migrants seeking treatment for incidents of sexual violence this year, according to MSF figures.
The fact that people continue to move through the gap under these circumstances indicates that the Panamanian government’s growing opposition to humanitarian services along the Darien does little to deter migration, but does increase the harms that migrants face.
Upon exiting the Darien Gap, migrants now face a shrinking humanitarian landscape in Panama and, for non-Venezuelans, the threat of deportation. A relatively new collaboration between Panama and Costa Rica to bus migrants from the former to the latter has increased the speed at which people can move northward and avoids the risks of moving on foot.
But it also leaves many without access to humanitarian services until reaching Costa Rica, where the humanitarian response has, in turn, not grown enough to meet the needs.
Further, safe pathways to the United States created for Venezuelans are inaccessible for most of those traversing the gap due to the requirements to access these pathways, such as eligibility dates and documentation. This raises doubts about whether the CHNV pathways program is effectively providing a viable alternative to migrants whose extreme vulnerability makes them likeliest to migrate.
Humanitarian needs along the Darien Gap will remain high for the foreseeable future as migration through the gap continues. This report–based on a research trip conducted by Refugees International–looks closely at the humanitarian conditions for those who successfully traverse the gap, and lays out a path to greater harmonization of migration management that respects governments’ desire for orderly movement while upholding the basic human rights of migrants.
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The report provides recommendations to improve reception in Panama and address the gaps in protection occurring due to increasing enforcement in the country. The report also argues that there is great potential for the international community and the government of Costa Rica to develop a more comprehensive humanitarian response given Costa Rica’s history as a country of asylum and its strong collaboration with the United States.
Further, this report suggests ways that the United States could support improved humanitarian services, access to protection, and integration for people taking the route through the Darien Gap, Panama, and Costa Rica while also better targeting access to pathways to the United States so as to decrease the use of this route and continued migration northward through Central America and Mexico.
Recommendations
To the Government of Panama:
- Support safe reception and enable access to basic services for arriving migrants. This should include allowing Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and other NGOs to provide medical and other critical humanitarian services in Lajas Blancas and other Migrant Reception Stations.
- Remove financial obstacles preventing the most vulnerable migrants from accessing the government-sponsored bus from Panama to Costa Rica, by prioritizing free seats for the most vulnerable cases, and enabling access to money transfers so that migrants do not turn to informal money transfers, which can be predatory.
To the Government of Costa Rica:
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- Mobilize state of emergency funds for local and federal government services in the Emi Sur and northern zones.
- Implement consolidated humanitarian care areas in Northern Costa Rica in line with UN recommendations, which call for inclusion of medical attention, WASH services, and shelter among others.
- Strengthen humanitarian and protection services at the Emi Sur southern reception station by:
- Implementing a registration/reception service to screen for protection needs and provide information on shelter opportunities and on how to apply for asylum in Costa Rica and other protection pathways.
- Tailoring services to ensure comprehensive support to children, including: making health screenings mandatory for children (unless parents opt out); prioritizing children for food; and waiving the $30 bus fee for children under 10.
- Providing sensitivity training to the migration police to ensure that they are well versed in inclusive treatment of migrants from different backgrounds, including those of the LGBTQ+ community and migrants with disabilities.
To the Government of the United States:
- Use the US$686 million in new financial commitments to increase funding to meet the US$9.7 million gap for UN organizations and NGOs to scale up humanitarian operations in Costa Rica.
- Increase funding to support the Costa Rican asylum system in upping staffing capacity and implementing efficient processing strategies to reduce the backlog.
Enhance the use of the Safe Mobility Offices [SMOs] to provide Venezuelans access to pathways. This should be done by engaging the government of Colombia to change the cut off date for eligibility for accessing them to December 1, 2024. - Amend the eligibility criteria for the CHNV program to be more accessible to Venezuelans with acute humanitarian needs, who often have a high propensity to migrate but lack documents and US-based sponsors.
To Global Donor Community and UN Agencies:
- Scale up registration and screening services in the southern reception station in Corredores to support the government of Costa Rica in identifying vulnerable individuals in need of specialized services and protection screenings.
- Consolidate operations at Los Chiles border with Costa Rica and Nicaragua to one area so that migrants can easily locate humanitarian organizations and receive services.
- Develop a voluntary return program for migrants from Panama with the Government of Panama. This will provide migrants a safe way to return back to host or home countries if they so choose.
Refugees International (RI) conducted a research trip from late June to early July 2024, visiting the migrant reception station of Lajas Blancas, Panama, the Emi Sur migration station near Paso Canoas in Costa Rica, and the northern canton area of Los Chiles/Las Tablillas border in Costa Rica.
The RI team conducted a total of 45 migrant interviews at these locations. In order to best understand the journey migrants undertake from Panama to Costa Rica, RI interviewed some of the same migrants at multiple points along their journey: in Panama, then again in Paso Canoas, and finally followed up while they were in Mexico.
The RI team also Interviewed several humanitarian organizations and government officials operating in Panama and Costa Rica.
Read the complete report here.
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