Technical cooperation and exchange of best practices in public policy, relations with donors, and management of migratory crises

In just a few years, Colombia has become the second largest recipient country of forced migrants in the world, with the Venezuelan exodus being the largest forced migration in the world.

In this context, Colombia has become a reference in the management of mixed flows in the region and the world, developing mechanisms to strengthen the response to these flows (such as the Temporary Statute of Protection for Venezuelan Migrants and, at the time, the Special Permits of Stay and Border Mobility Cards), the elimination of the risk of statelessness (Childhood First policy) and regulatory instruments for the management of migration under the new migratory reality of the country (such as Law 2136 for the Comprehensive Migration Policy). In the same way, in its solidarity policy based on the attention and integration of the migrant population, Colombia assumes through its institutions and its receiving communities the major costs of the regional response to the mixed migratory flows coming from Venezuela, characterized by chronic underfunding and insufficient attention from the international community

In this regard, Colombia is committed to continue to be a reference in the management of migration at the regional and global level, as well as to maintain an active voice in relation to the visibility of the Venezuelan exodus in the rest of the world, in order to provide technical and financial support in accordance with the magnitude of these migratory flows. This commitment includes participation in forums for technical cooperation and the exchange of policies and best practices on migration and the management of humanitarian emergencies related to human mobility phenomena, including intergovernmental initiatives such as the Quito Process, as well as other scenarios for the exchange and socialization of bilateral and multilateral migration policies.

Likewise, as the main recipient of the Venezuelan migrant population in the world, Colombia will continue to play an active role in promoting the visibility of the Venezuelan exodus at the national and international levels among international cooperation partners and key actors for the attention and integration of the migrant population, in spaces such as the International Donors Conference and other scenarios aimed at mobilizing the technical and financial support of the international community for this response.

LAST UPDATED: 4/JUL/23

Colombia has participated in different scenarios, becoming a leader in the management ofmixed migratory flows under a perspective of solidarity, shared responsibility, and Human Rights respect. Some of the efforts that the country has done at the international level will be highlighted below. 
• International Solidarity Conference:
Thanks to the diplomatic efforts of Colombia, supported by countries of the region and the IOM and UNHCR, the Conference took place on march 16 and 17, co-hosted by Canada andECHO (European Union). As a result of the conference pledges were made for more than €815 million to be used for the implementation of the RMRP in the region.
• Second Global Refugee Forum:
Colombia will be a co-sponsor of the Second World Forum on Refugees together withFrance, Japan, Jordan, Niger, and Uganda. This Forum will take place in December 2023. 
Colombia was chosen to represent the Latin American region and share its experience inmanaging mixed migration flows. In this sense, we will work hand in hand with our institutions and other stakeholders to ensure the adoption of new commitments that guarantee respect for the human rights of refugees and other people in need of protection. 
One of the commitments as co-convening countries is to refer to the 2023 World Refugee Forum in the different spaces/forums/meetings that are held and particularly in regional meetings, invite countries to comply with the commitments acquired in the Global Refugee Forum (GRM) 2019 and in turn join efforts to present new commitments next year. 
• Technical cooperation on child attention:
The Colombian Institute for Child Welfare (ICBF) designed a portfolio of projects that sought comprehensive care and protection for migrant children and adolescents, in this context managed the management of international cooperation resources with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation - AECID for a value of 1,500. 000 euros in order to implement the project "Here we all fit", which aims to promote the protection of vulnerable migrant children and adolescents, in the context of human mobility, from their empowerment and progressive autonomy and the accompaniment to their families and strengthening the response capacity of the ICBF.
Likewise, the ICBF achieved a non-reimbursable Technical Cooperation Agreement with the International Development Bank - IDB for a value of USD 1,131,000, which aims to implement the Tejiendo Caminos project, which seeks a flexible, itinerant, timely and quality model. for comprehensive care, which will be provided to girls, boys, adolescents and their migrant families and host communities, which contemplates some principles that make care a particular process and aimed at guaranteeing the rights of this migrant population, to promote their integral development. This project will be developed in four departments with a high concentration of migrant population.
The ICBF also has actions in the CONPES 4100 of 2022: Strategy for the integration of the Venezuelan migrant population as a factor of development for the country, oriented to care ininitial education and early childhood nutrition, prevention of risks to childhood andadolescence, comprehensive protection of migrant children and adolescents.
Several actions were carried out that would constitute a fulfilled commitment. However, since the pledge will continue to be relevant after the proposed date, below is an example ofactivities developed this year, along with a further pledge to continue progressing in this regard.
• Side event “Committed in the Face of Crisis: Lessons from Colombia’s People-Centered Migration and Protection Policy”:
Hosted by New York University’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC) Humanitarian Crises and Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies Programs, co-organized by the Colombian Permanent Mission to the UN, co-hosted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands Permanent Mission to the UN, and held at the Canadian Permanent Mission to the UN, this event brought together UN-member states, UN agencies, funders, and non-government migration, protection, and justice experts to discuss Colombia’s migration and protection policy. It explored the policy efforts made by successive Colombia administrations to pursue economic and social integration of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in the face of crisis and the challenges around securing adequate international support for this unprecedented effort. In doing so, it also explored the implications of the Colombia case for broader regional and global displacement policies and forums.