The National Trinidad and Tobago Interagency Coordination Platform, R4V, today launched the 2022 Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) for Trinidad and Tobago to support the growing needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela and the host community. Activities for 2022 will focus primarily on the creation of opportunities for inclusion and integration and will be implemented by 10 appealing organisations and their partners.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and IOM, the UN Migration Agency, co-lead R4V – a regional response platform across 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was established in 2018 to respond to the Venezuelan refugee and migrant crisis. This is the fourth iteration of the RMRP.
In the wake of the persisting political, social and economic crisis in Venezuela and the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many refugees and migrants, as well as their host communities, continue to face many challenges. R4V partners will therefore seek to work closely with the Trinidad and Tobago Government to support host communities that receive Venezuelan refugees and migrants.
“We are grateful to the Trinidad and Tobago Government and its agencies for their continued support of the RMRP. Their co-operation is imperative to help us deliver targeted assistance to vulnerable people in the community,” said R4V co-chair and UNHCR’s Head of National Office Miriam Aertker. Jewel Ali, R4V co-chair and IOM’s Head of National Office, added, “The RMRP is designed to complement, and where necessary, build capacity within existing state structures.”
This year's plan brings together 10 appealing partner organisations involved in the response, including United Nations agencies, national and international non-governmental organisations in addition to civil society and community organisations headed by refugees and migrants.
The 2022 RMRP prioritises three themes:
- Prevent, mitigate and respond to protection risks faced by refugees and migrants from Venezuela
- Provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable refugees, migrants and members of the host community
- Increase the resilience of displaced Venezuelans through opportunities that promote inclusion and integration
The main activities under the plan include registration and documentation, temporary emergency shelter and accommodation, legal and psychosocial assistance, food and nutrition, healthcare, education, and support for socioeconomic integration.
“Those who have left Venezuela are willing and eager to contribute and reciprocate to the communities that welcomed them. Our goal is to work with host communities to create and encourage opportunities for skill-sharing, and enterprise,” Ms Ali said. “Integration and inclusion of refugees and migrants into host communities can only be of mutual benefit,” Ms Aertker added.
There are over six million refugees and migrants who have left Venezuela, and many of them have been displaced for years. The vast majority – nearly five million – reside in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Trinidad and Tobago, R4V estimates there will be approximately 34,100 displaced Venezuelans residing in the country by the end of 2022.
Regionally, the RMRP is implemented by the R4V platform in 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay.
To learn more about RMRP 2022, visit:
For more information, please contact:
- Carla Bridglal (UNHCR Trinidad and Tobago): bridglal@unhcr.org
- Kandy Serrant (IOM Trinidad and Tobago): kserrant@iom.int