ReliefWeb

Situation

On 9 July, the procedure for immigration regularization (TUPA, for its acronym in Spanish) under Decree Nº 010-2020-IN to obtain the Temporary Residence Permit Card (CPP) came into effect.1 Over 360,000 Venezuelans had pre-registered. The Superintendence of Migration (SNM) reported that over a thousand people started their regularization and documentation processes in the first three days of issuance of the TUPA.

The Ministry of Foreign Affaris (MFA) and the SNM commenced the process to obtain the humanitarian residency directed towards the 530,000 Venezuelan asylum-seekers. On 13 July, the MFA announced that the first report containing some 55,000 registrations would be sent to the SNM to schedule the issuance and delivery of ID cards.

President Castillo was sworn in on 28 July 2021. He urged for the proclamation of a new Constitution and stated that foreign nationals that committed crimes would have to leave the country within 72 hours. . This announcement was made among a series of measures targeting criminality, however, the President did not provide further details on how this measure would be implemented.

Response

GTRM Partners assisted some 9,630 refugees and migrants with general protection orientations (including to update asylum-seekers’ information and provide information on access to territory, health and education services and humanitarian assistance) and 3,600 with legal counselling, mainly on regularization mechanisms. Partners assisted over 5,100 persons through case management, including refugees and migrants found stranded at the border, to access protection and services assistance. To address socioemotional needs, some 2,240 persons received psychosocial assistance through group and individual sessions, including as part of comprehensive interventions that have several assistance components.

Some 1,500 key actors including community leaders, civil servants and others participated in almost 100 workshops and trainings given on child protection, gender-based violence (GVB), human trafficking and smuggling, and on regularization, access to documentation, and others. Within GBV trainings there was a special focus on supporting female community leaders mainstreaming gender issues.

Some 270 survivors of GBV received specialized assistance (including case management) and partners referred 170 survivors to specialized services. Moreover, partners assisted some 320 survivors of GBV and their families with Cash Based Initiatives (CBI) and 73 adolescents, women and LGBTI community members received dignity kits.

Partners improved the infrastructure of five communal spaces including a soup-kitchen and shelter in Lima, the installation of solar panels in a community centre in San Juan de Lurigancho, and the restoration of two community centres in Callao. Some 300 Venezuelan and host community members benefitted from strengthening management capacity and support to 12 shelters’ administrations to manage risks and conflict within the shelters. Furthermore, the Shelter sector response also included the distribution of thermal blankets to nearly 3,500 highly vulnerable persons to cope with the increasingly cold temperatures in Arequipa, Callao (three districts), Cusco, Ica, Lima (17 districts), Madre de Dios, Puno, Tacna, and Tumbes. GTRM partners assisted some 90 highly vulnerable refugees and migrants with alternative accommodations in shelters in Lima and Puno As part of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) efforts, nearly 6,000 persons in transit were provided with drinking water, hygiene kits and face masks. Partners additionally distributed some 5,000 hygiene kits, including 1000 kits for women and adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health, helping nearly 9,000 vulnerable refugees and migrants, including those in transit, and members of host communities.

Considering the needs of both persons in transit (in Madre de Dios, Puno, Tacna, and Tumbes) and those living in Peru in areas that have been particularly impacted by the pandemic, such as Arequipa, La Libertad, Lima (twelve districts), and Lambayeque (which has the second highest mortality rate in the country), GTRM Partners distributed some 46,520 hot and cold meals to support 14,200 highly vulnerable refugees and migrants and members of host communities.
In addition, 10,160 persons were assisted through multi-purpose CBI (USD 420,000). Partners also assisted some 110 vulnerable persons with humanitarian transport.

Access to livelihoods continues to be an immediate priority for refugees and migrants to enable them to meet their needs on their own terms. Thus, nearly 130 Venezuelans received support from GTRM partners to validate their professional degrees, an effort to allow the refugee and migrant community to apply their knowledge, expertise, and experience in favor of their host communities, as well as to find better paid jobs in the formal economy. Some 630 persons participated in entrepreneurship and self-employment programmes to boost their resilience, independence, and self-reliance, and 540 functioning entrepreneurships continue to receive capacity development on business management and administration support to increase their chances of success in the market amid the economic contraction. Partners also built and developed the capacity of 1,440 persons to access decent work, aiming to address the difficult working conditions and exploitative labour situations faced by many Venezuelans. Moreover, nearly 1,400 persons received CBI for livelihoods and 150 accessed the financial system with support from GTRM partners. Access to the financial system is an essential step to ensure healthy finances within entrepreneurship programs as well as for the integration of refugee and migrant communities.

Some 670 refugees and migrants received emergency and primary health care (including over 50 HIV positive patients and 16 emergency care patients both in transit through Tumbes and living in Callao and Lima) from GTRM partners. Some 440 persons received contraceptive methods to support family planning and 580 persons participated in sessions about sexual and reproductive health. In this regard, nine persons accessed HIV screening, a service that has become more difficult to access due to the pandemic. Furthermore, some 1,250 persons received mental healthcare, and 920 persons were supported to access treatment and pay for medical expenses through sectoral CBI.
Is it important to highlight that during July the response on Nutrition was extremely limited due to the lack of funding, with relevant organizations requiring further support to implement activities.
Nevertheless, partners evaluated 30 children from marginalized communities in the district of San Juan de Lurigancho (Lima) to detect anemia.

Partners distributed 770 school kits and 150 tablets to support vulnerable students to bridge the digital divide and support their permanence in the education system.