**UNHCR 92nd Standing Committee**
**11-13 March 2025**
**Regional updates Agenda item 3 iv. Americas**
**Statement by the EU and its Member States**
Chair,
I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The EU and its Member States share UNHCR’s concern for the increasing forced displacement and protection risks in the **Americas** region, resulting from political repression escalating violence, economic vulnerability, natural disasters and recent political and financial developments. We commend UNHCR for its protection work, involving capable field operators and pertinent initiatives. In these uncertain times, we acknowledge the importance of ensuring that agencies mandated for protection like UNHCR can amplify advocacy for refugee and asylum rights in the region.
In 2024, the culmination of the **Cartagena + 40 process** with the Chile Declaration was a great achievement. We thank UNHCR for its engagement as well as for its commitment in the Quito Process and the MIRPS. The progress made to address forced displacement with a holistic approach should continue. We welcome the Panama Declaration and its roadmap for this year, and we will continue supporting Belize as the current pro-tempore Chair. These regional processes help to frame our collective engagement for this challenging 2025 and can help us all advocate for the continued protection of refugees and asylum seekers.
We count on UNHCR’s engagement and joint advocacy for several challenging crises in the Americas region, as well as continued efforts to reach the least accessible communities. The **Venezuelan regional refugee crisis** remains of great concern, and we thank host countries for cooperating with UNHCR to offer the necessary protection to forcibly displaced persons. Together with UNHCR, we continue to support individuals within and outside of Venezuela. We note the escalation of protection risks after the recent elections and welcome further engagement with UNHCR to ensure protection in Venezuela and asylum space in the main countries of reception, including **Colombia, Peru** and **Brazil**.
UNHCR should continue **coordination efforts** to enhance cooperation with local partners and mitigate risks of deportation. It is paramount to adapt and improve the coordination mechanism for the response to mixed migration, as recommended by the review funded by the EU and Spain – managed by IOM, UNHCR and OCHA. The current regional mechanism and planning – the R4V platform, led by UNHCR and IOM – needs to include people on the move from different nationalities and should be simplified, linked with other existing coordination mechanisms and streamline the analysis of humanitarian needs. It is critical to gain efficiency and relevance as well as to allow a complete joint regional analysis.
Given the potential aggravation of mixed migration flows and the potential large-scale deportations, we count on UNHCR for further collaboration and joint advocacy. There are serious concerns for forcibly displaced persons and asylum seekers, and those stranded across several countries, especially in **Mexico**.
We would like to express our concern about the deterioration of the humanitarian and human rights situations in Nicaragua, **Haiti** and **Ecuador**, with increased violence and forced displacement. Forced displacement has had a serious impact in all sectors of society in Nicaragua, adding state violence to a system of historical discrimination, gender stereotypes and social prejudices. UNHCR’s regional support to Ecuadorians across South America is welcome. We also welcome the 2024 release of the international protection considerations for people fleeing Haiti, which provided a basis for further advocacy in countries such as the **Dominican Republic** and **Mexico**.
The EU and its Members States remain committed to the peace process in **Colombia** and express concern at the recent eruption of further violence in Catatumbo. We welcome further engagement with UNHCR, including on the potential protection and durable solutions ramifications. We commend UNHCR for integrating persons in vulnerable situations in its programming and focusing on the protection of women, children and persons belonging to minorities.
The EU and its Member States remain committed to the regional dimension of our partnership with UNHCR, including in **Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Central American and Caribbean countries**. The regional capacity in responding to crises has grown considerably and we welcome the prospects of further progress. We look forward to continuing our joint work and developing a more structured dialogue to discuss strategic and innovative approaches in the Americas.
Thank you.