El Salvador – The 12th Annual Meeting of the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM), which brought together vice ministers of Foreign Affairs and senior officials from Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and the United States, concluded yesterday (30/11) in El Salvador.

This year, on the initiative of the Pro Tempore Presidency held by the Government of El Salvador, the discussions focused on the needs of migrant women. The delegates also discussed the progress made by the countries in combatting trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling, as well as the position of the Governments in the region towards the Global Compact for Migration (GCM).

During the opening ceremony, the Foreign Minister of El Salvador, Hugo Martinez, referred to the goals set by El Salvador’s Pro Tempore Presidency, in an effort to ensure that negative and positive effects of female migration are addressed from a comprehensive, specific and inclusive approach. He invited delegates to consolidate their work on behalf of migrants within the countries of origin and separate migration issues from the concept of security.

The Deputy Foreign Minister for Salvadorans Abroad, Liduvina Magarin, drew attention to the importance of responding to the needs of migrant women, as they are vulnerable not only by being migrants, but also due to the several risks associated with gender-based violence.

The topic of migrant women is particularly important within this region, as several studies conducted in countries of Central America, indicate that approximately 52 per cent of the inward remittances in Central America are sent by women.

The RCM is an intergovernmental forum established in 1996 to support the dialogue on migratory issues and the exchange of ideas and experiences for joint reflection and cooperation on the issues of common interest of the participating countries.

Since 2009, IOM hosts the Technical Regional Secretariat of the RCM, and this year the relationship between the two bodies was strengthened with the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding, by which Member States of the RCM requested IOM to exercise administrative control over the resources of the intergovernmental forum.

The meeting was also attended by ICRC, ILO, UNHCR, UNICEF and WHO high-level representatives, as well as by representatives of the Regional Network of Civil Organizations for Migration. Other multilateral organizations such as the Central American Integration System also participated in the event.

At the end of the meeting, the Pro Tempore Presidency was assumed by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama, Luis Miguel Hincapié, who announced that next year the RCM will work in favour of the “SDGs and migration governance”, to ensure that proper migration management contributes effectively to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.

The RCM is one of the 16 regional consultative processes on migration available around the globe. Regional consultative processes on migration (RCPs) bring together representatives of states, international organizations and, in some cases, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for informal and non-binding dialogue and information exchange on migration-related issues of common interest and concern.

For further information please contact Jorge Gallo at the IOM Regional Office for Central, North America and the Caribbean, Tel. +506 2212 5300, Email jgallo@iom.int