SERVICES: National Platforms
Venezuela
Context: In April 2018, a Regional Inter-agency Coordination Platform was formed by UNHCR and IOM for these agencies to lead and coordinate the response to refugees and migrants from Venezuela. It has a communicating with communities inter-agency platform at the sub-national level involved in the Venezuela Migration Crisis Response. It is part of the R4V – Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela.
Government links: TBC
Leads/Chairs/Co-Chairs: UNICEF and IFRC co-lead the Communication with Communities and Communication for Development Working Group (CwC /C4D–R4V).
National and international actors involved: Over 40 UN agencies, CSOs, NGOs and donors participating in the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Response to Migrants and Refugees of Venezuela (R4V) support theresponse managed at the national and local levels. Agencies involved include: IFRC, IOM, Plan International, Save the Children, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO and WFP.
Donors: Multiple TBC
Opportunities, challenges, achievements
CDAC Member, Dahlia undertook mission to Colombia and Ecuador and their online report, issued in September 2019, titled: ‘Communication, community engagement and migration: Challenges of the crisis in Venezuela’summarises the main conclusions with the objective of contributing to a review of communication, information, feedback and community engagement mechanisms in the response to the Venezuelan migration crisis.
During 2019, the work of the Communication with Communities/Communication for Development (CwC/C4D-R4V) Working Group, co-led by UNICEF and IFRC focused on its reactivation and implemented an online collaboration management mode, to meet the goals of its 2019 work plan, including:
A joint IFRC-UNHCR led Regional Information and Communication Needs Assessment conducted across the Americas region to investigate information and communication needs of migrants in the region. The exercise was the result of the work of over 30 organization across 15 countries where over 3,400 people were interviewed.
A regional message bank was designed as a tool that aims to provide updated information to refugees and migrants from Venezuela on different topics that are of their interest and need, including access to protection systems, risk prevention, access to asylum and regular entry and stay mechanisms (information on regularization), and available social services. In a first stage, it was agreed to start regionalizing and harmonizing already existing materials such as “Mapa – Rutas para la movilidad humana” and “Juego – La travesía” with the support of UNICEF Country Offices: Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
A two-day Regional Communication with Communities (CwC) training was conducted in May 2019 with 36 platform and CwC focal points from countries involved in the Response for Venezuelans (R4V). The workshop included a review of the activities prioritized in the regional work plan to support the development and implementation of a CwC/C4D regional strategy. Among the activities prioritized, is the regional Information and Communication Needs Assessment previously mentioned.
Elaborate a TOT on Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP). More than 40 participants from 18 different UN agencies, NGOs and CSOs in Latin America and the Caribbean gathered to discuss and exchange experiences on Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) during the Regional Learning Workshop on AAP, aimed at National, Sub-Regional and Regional Interagency Groups and/or regional members of the R4V. The CwC/C4D - R4V 2019 work plan identifies AAP as one of the areas to be strengthened, in compliance with the Grand Bargain, the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) on Quality and Accountability and the IASC Commitments. As the main outcome of the workshop, the national and sub-regional teams drafted plans that will serve as inputs to implement AAP common mechanisms in 2020. The activity was led by UNICEF with the support of IOM, UNHCR, and WFP, and held in Bogota, Colombia from October 16 to 18, 2019.
Implement a multi-partner, multi-country U-Report “Uniendo Voces”. U-Report “Uniendo Voces” is a user-friendly, cost-effective, anonymous regional interagency and coordinate accountability mechanism that provides refugees and migrants with access to information about their rights and the services available to them, as well as life-saving information on topics of relevance, data collection, and opportunities to provide feedback and complaints. A multi-partner/multi-country workshop was held in Bogota to design the prototype. A Regional Concept Note has been agreed and the digital dashboard has been set-up, featuring template infobots. Initial drafts for the SOPs have been shared with partners, including the Privacy and Data Protection Policy. In 2020, Brazil will be leading the regional implementation showcasing how cooperation and the harnessing innovation can improve emergency response and help achieve even greater results for refugees and migrants.
More information about the work CwC/C4D-R4V Working Group can be found in their 2019 annual report. In addition, a presentation from the working group on strengthening of Information sharing, communication, and feedback for refugees and migrants from Venezuela can be downloaded here.
