Honduras - IOM and Honduras’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (SRECI) have launched a project to improve the care of migrants, identify human rights violations, and promote protection services provided to Honduran migrants in Mexico by the Honduran consular service.

The project, supported by IOM’s Development Fund, includes the creation of an information and registration system that will contribute to the identification, assistance and referral of vulnerable migrants in need of protection or who have been victims of abuse.

The system will also help to automate the exchange of information both internally at the SRECI and among counterparts inside and outside Honduras, according to IOM Chief of Mission for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Jorge Peraza Breedy.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Honduras has made advances in the care it provides to mobile populations. We will continue to contribute to the strengthening of its capacity to identify, protect and care for migrants in transit, at their destination and on their return," he said.

IOM is helping Honduras to train personnel from both the Honduran Consular Network in Mexico and the General Directorate for Protection of Honduran Migrants.

Training topics include international human rights standards; the Law on the Protection of Honduran Migrants and their Families; and current immigration laws in Mexico. Staff will also be trained in observation techniques and how to analyse and document cases of human rights abuse.

IOM has also provided information technology to strengthen existing platforms and improve consular registration. This includes servers, computers, software licenses and office equipment.

Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular and Migration Affairs Maria Andrea Matamoros said that the IOM-SRECI partnership will strengthen analysis and monitoring by different consular offices. This will result in better coordination which will benefit Honduran migrants.

The Honduran consular network in Mexico plays a strategic role in protecting the human rights of migrants. It is located in key areas including Tapachula, Veracruz, Mexico City and San Luis Potosi. There are also Honduran consular offices in Acayucan, Tenosique and Saltillo.

For more information, please contact Karen Arita at IOM Honduras. Tel +504 2237-7460, Email: karita@iom.int or Alba Amaya at IOM El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Tel +503 2521-0556 Email: aamaya@iom.int