Santiago – IOM, the UN Migration Agency, in its role as secretariat of the Migrants in Countries in Crisis Initiative (MICIC), carried out a training of trainers on the integration of migrants in the emergency preparedness, response and recovery systems in host countries.

The workshop, held last week (26-28/7) in Santiago, Chile provided training to representatives from the governments of Chile and Ecuador and different national institutions including humanitarian partners and civil society.

The training, divided into three theoretical and practical sessions, was designed to strengthen the national capacities for the implementation of the guidelines developed by MICIC related to the integration of migrants in the preparation, response and recovery of crisis/emergency management plans and programmes in the countries.

The course included aspects of how to develop national capacities that sensitize national authorities and interlocutors for the implementation of the guidelines developed by MICIC.

IOM Chile’s Humanitarian Emergency Officer Jorge Sagastume, IOM’s Regional Advisor for Emergencies and Post Crisis in the Americas Luz Tantaruna and IOM Guatemala’s Capacity Building Officer Alejandro Martínez facilitated the training.

Participants included representatives from the Municipalities of Maipú, Valparaiso, Peñalolén, Santiago, Antofagasta in Chile as well as from the North Metropolitan Health Service, UNICEF Humanitarian Team, Caritas Chile, World Vision, Migrant Networks, Haitian Migrants Platform and an Ecuadorian delegation composed of experts on human mobility and risk management.

Jessica Rosas, a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador’s Vice Ministry of Human Mobility, stated: “This training of trainers will contribute to the Ecuadorian policy of mainstreaming human mobility in public policies and will strengthen personal and institutional capacities in relation to caring for migrants in crisis situations.”

“This workshop will not only benefit our municipality and migrants but it will also strengthen the whole network,” said Liliana Castaño, Manager of the Migrant’s Office of the Municipality of Santiago and a participant at the event. She added: “We face many challenges, and the training will allow us to be much better prepared as a community, municipality, region and country.”

Norberto Girón, IOM Chile Chief of Mission said that IOM will continue to support these types of activities that promote the integration of migrants and the efforts of South–South cooperation that are being developed in Chile and Ecuador, especially to sensitize the national authorities and partners for the implementation of MICIC.

The MICIC Initiative is a government-led effort co-chaired by the United States and the Philippines, which aims to improve the protection of migrants when the countries in which they live, work, study, transit, or travel experience a conflict or natural disaster.

For more information, please contact Carolina Pérez at IOM Chile, Tel. + 56 2 296 33 726, Email: caperez@iom.int