Attachments
FOREWORD BY DR. EDUARDO STEIN
”THE INTEGRATION OF REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IS CRUCIAL FOR BUILDING INCLUSIVE AND RESILIENT SOCIETIES. WHEN MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES ARE EMPOWERED TO CONTRIBUTE FULLY TO THEIR COMMUNITIES, THEY ENRICH THE SOCIAL FABRIC WHILE DRIVING ECONOMIC GROWTH AND INNOVATION. BY ENSURING ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICES, LIKE LABOUR MARKETS, AND SOCIAL NETWORKS, WE CREATE A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR REFUGEES, MIGRANTS, AND HOST COMMUNITIES.”
Since the onset of unprecedented and complex population movement across Latin America and the Caribbean in 2018, unwavering support has been provided to migrants and refugees by R4V partners, reaffirming the commitment to their dignity, safety, rights, and wellbeing. R4V’s 2025-2026 Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) embodies this collective pledge of 230 organizations and reflects the determination of governments, humanitarian actors, host communities, and refugees and migrants themselves to build a more inclusive future.
Despite the generous and commendable responses provided by hosting governments and wide variety of actors with the support of the international community for the provision of humanitarian assistance, access to asylum, documentation, migratory regularization processes and services, plus efforts to support socioeconomic inclusion, many challenges remain. Those challenges are profound and continue to evolve. Recent developments in Venezuela, including national elections, the suspension of consular services in some countries of the region, the shifting of regulatory frameworks, and environmental disasters bring to light the complexity of the current context. These are further exacerbated by persistent insecurity, increase in protection risks along routes, and long-standing structural barriers to foster integration. Adding to these challenges is the rise of discriminatory and xenophobic sentiments in some host communities, which threaten to erode the solidarity that has been the cornerstone of the regional response in the Latin America sub-continent and the Caribbean.
Before the pandemic, governments and partners throughout the region were confronted with the
unprecedented arrival of large numbers of migrants and refugees, requiring immediate and adaptive responses and solutions. During the pandemic, saving lives took precedence, with humanitarian operations continuing under extraordinary circumstances. In the aftermath, host countries have demonstrated remarkable resilience advancing economic recovery and expanding integration opportunities for refugees and migrants. Yet, these efforts are to be reinforced and scaled up to fully address the pressing needs to foster stabilization and further socioeconomic integration, particularly in the context of declining humanitarian funding, growing movements of people of other nationalities throughout the region, and the harmful interplay of irregular status and labour informality.
The RMRP 2025-2026, including 23,600 activities reflects a renewed commitment to sustainable responses and solutions, adopting a medium- to long-term vision, further expanding its scope to include other nationalities in need who share the challenges faced by Venezuelan refugees and migrants. This plan seeks not only to address immediate needs, including a sharp increase in food insecurity; but also, to continue to advance initiatives that support socio-economic integration, recognizing the potential of migrants and refugees to contribute to the prosperity of host communities. From entrepreneurs driving local economic growth to young students enriching educational systems, their capacity to positively transform societies is undeniable.
Despite notable advances by host governments in granting regular status to migrants and refugees, resulting in 4.5 million of regular migratory status and refugee status recognition, this must be coupled with title recognition and certification of skills to access formal labour, financial services, education, and healthcare. Lack of stabilization and socioeconomic opportunities might lead to onward movements.
I recognize and deeply appreciate the efforts of governments, international organizations, local actors, and host communities, whose untiring commitment to solidarity, humanity, cooperation and responsibility sharing has been instrumental in maintaining a coordinated and effective response, even in the face of increasingly limited resources.
The road ahead remains long, but together, we will continue to advocate for a comprehensive regional approach that fosters dignity and increase opportunities of integration for migrants and refugees across the region. Beyond the respect for the dignity and the human rights of those on the move, we have always promoted the positive and constructive dimensions of what they can bring and are bringing to the receiving communities: it is essential to change the narrative that underscores the prevalent negative conception of migration agendas as only a source of problems and difficulties, and keep striving for bringing to the fore the positive narrative of the contributions they can provide to the receiving communities. This RMRP is not merely an operational plan; it is an expression of hope and a concrete step towards a shared future.