Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
Information received from Colombia on follow-up to the concluding observations on its third periodic report *
[Date received: 15 October 2021]
I.Introduction
1.The following are the measures adopted by the Government of Colombia in relation to the recommendations issued on 11 September 2019 by the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families on the third periodic report of Colombia, submitted on 2 May 2018.
II.Follow-up information
A.Follow-up information relating to paragraph 26 of the concluding observations (CMW/C/COL/CO/3)
2.The Government of Colombia has implemented various measures in accordance with the recommendations in paragraph 26, through actions carried out by the Ministry of Labour, the Border Management Office of the Office of the President of the Republic, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, the Ministry of Education and the Attorney General’s Office.
Ministry of Labour and Social Protection
3.The most significant advances on the part of the Ministry of Labour are as follows:
(a)Under Decision No. 4386 of 9 October 2018, creating and implementing the Single Registry of Foreign Workers in Colombia, the platform for the registration and certification of foreign workers in the country was put into operation. This provides online access to first-hand information on labour immigration; the geographic and sectoral location of foreign workers; and their employment status and working conditions, to ensure full compliance with the labour regulations in force;
(b)The Subcommittee on Tripartite Social Dialogue on labour migration was created under Decision No. 425 of 10 December 2013. Its objective is to promote the participation of different stakeholders through the coordination of mechanisms to create plans, actions, strategies, proposals and recommendations to provide guidance to the national Government on labour migration trends and management. The members of the Standing Committee on the Coordination of Wage and Employment Policy are responsible for submitting proposals and recommendations on labour migration trends and management. This body is made up of 14 members (6 national entities, 2 business associations, 4 trade union confederations and 2 departments of the Ministry of Labour) and 2 international organizations that provide technical assistance. It is led by the Ministry of Labour, and the Ministry’s Directorate of Mobility and Training serves as its technical secretariat, with the support of the secretariat of the Standing Committee on the Coordination of Wage and Employment Policy;
(c)In coordination with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the “Somos Panas Colombia” (We Are Friends Colombia) campaign is being carried out to combat xenophobia and encourage solidarity with Venezuelans who have had to leave their country in search of protection and a better future in Colombia. This promotes integration between refugees and migrants arriving from Venezuela and Colombians;
(d)With the support of the International Organization for Migration and the United States Agency for International Development, the “Companies with Open Arms – Labour Inclusion Without Borders” campaign was developed to boost the participation of Venezuelan nationals and Colombian returnees in the labour market by promoting a work environment free of discrimination in companies.
Border Management Office of the Office of the President of the Republic
4.The Office of the President of the Republic, through the Border Management Office and with the support of the World Bank, has developed a communication strategy to combat discrimination and xenophobia. This has made it possible to promote the narrative of integration of migrants from Venezuela, combat xenophobia and improve the dissemination of information about this situation to the general public and key stakeholders.
5.During 2020, more than 40 co-creation workshops were held, social media and opinion columns were analysed, and in-depth interviews with strategic stakeholders were carried out, in addition to interviews through social media with ordinary citizens, migrants in Colombia and Colombian returnees. This served as the basis for building a communication strategy and a narrative based on the premise that “migration is a story of integration, not a story about migrants”.
6.This strategy is the backbone of the messaging from the Office of the President about the migration situation in the country and provides tools for aligning all communication initiatives within an action plan. Thus, in collaboration with different actors in society, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), cooperating partners, traditional and digital media, and civil society organizations, information on advancements in this area and a unified message of integration have been disseminated. One of the main components is the idea of the family as the foundation of society, where women and children are key players. This serves as a unifying element that also helps to create a vision of a better future for all.
7.To enhance the coordination of the strategy, training workshops have been held, through different partners, for communicators from social organizations and local and regional media, as well as officials of public entities; these sessions have been attended by approximately 1,588 people from different parts of the country. The workshops are intended to raise these actors’ awareness of the impact of communication initiatives and the media when covering migration in Colombia, and of how they can transmit a positive narrative to facilitate the integration of the migrant population. The workshops are aimed at journalists, public officials, social leaders of migrant and host communities, entrepreneurs and service providers in the private sector. In total, 98 per cent of the participants said that their perception of the journalism they wished to practise had changed, with a shift towards inclusive, solution-oriented journalism.
8.Joint communication initiatives have been carried out on special days to set the agenda for the integration of migrant, returnee and host populations, using new media to increase the messages’ impact and broaden their reach. These initiatives moreover have the option of adding partners and consolidating existing partnerships to send a unified message to the general public.
9.Some of the campaigns that have been developed along these lines can be found on social media under the hashtags #LaArepanosUne, #ConlaCamisetadelOtro, #CelebremosSinFronteras, #LaGuajiraqueyoConozco, #Estatuto and #HistoriasHumanas. To date, there have been 19 million impressions of these digital initiatives on social media. Of all the integration-related messages generated at the national level, 15 per cent originated from these various campaigns.
10.Under the National Development Plan “Pact for Colombia, Pact for Equity” (2018–2022), in particular the “Pact for Equity: Children First” component, intersectoral efforts have been made for the implementation of public policies to protect migrant children and adolescents from Venezuela, on the understanding that, among all migrants in Colombia, they are the ones most in need of these intersectoral efforts. Four main actions have been taken in this area, in full compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Act No. 1098 of 8 November 2006 establishing the Children’s and Adolescents’ Code, and the various recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child:
(a)Actions have been taken in response to the needs of Venezuelan children and adolescents to ensure their access to the various government services and programmes, regardless of their nationality or immigration status. This action is in line with the principle of non-discrimination contained in article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and article 4 of the Children’s and Adolescents’ Code. As of June 2021, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute had provided prevention services to 73,350 Venezuelan children and adolescents and protection services to 3,594. Under the same principle, access to basic, secondary and upper secondary education has been guaranteed to 479,818 children and adolescents from Venezuela;
(b)The rules on temporary protected status for Venezuelan migrants, contained in Decree No. 216 of 1 March 2021 and implemented under Decision No. 971 of 30 April 2021, establish differentiated actions for those under 18 years of age. For example, the aforementioned decision contains a section devoted to the treatment of children and adolescents, and the second paragraph of its article 25 states: “For the implementation of the rules on temporary protected status for Venezuelan migrants, the principles of shared responsibility, non-discrimination, best interest, prevalence of rights and family unity shall apply”. This status is an essential tool for the social integration of children and adolescents and, within the framework of shared responsibility, constitutes a mechanism for the prevention of violations or threats to their rights;
(c)In an intersectoral effort led by the Office of the President of the Republic, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Civil Registry Office, the “Childhood First” measure was extended under Decision No. 8617 of 19 August 2021. This measure has been internationally recognized as a mechanism for safeguarding the fundamental rights of children, as it prevents the risk of statelessness faced by children and adolescents born in Colombia to non-domiciled Venezuelan parents. As of March 2021, 52,693 children and adolescents have benefited from the programme and it will remain in force until 20 August 2023. It will be automatically extended for an additional two years if the circumstances that led to its creation persist;
(d)Within the framework of the Inter-Agency Group on Mixed Migration Flows, a committee on migrant and refugee children has been formed with the participation of more than 25 partners, including United Nations agencies, civil society and government entities. This committee communicates the Government’s priorities and needs for complementary actions at both the national and local levels. A workplan with three strategic areas of action has been established: the implementation of the rules on temporary protected status for Venezuelan migrants; an effective response to the needs of unaccompanied children and adolescents; and the consolidation and strengthening of protective spaces for children.
Colombian Family Welfare Institute
11.Under the Colombian Family Welfare Institute’s early childhood education component, services for girls and for children from the prenatal stage to five years of age are based on a diversity perspective and a rights-based, differentiated approach. This approach recognizes inequities, risks and vulnerabilities and values the capacities and diversity of each individual or group, with a view to influencing the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public policy.
12.In addition, under the policy for comprehensive early childhood development, the “recognition, respect and celebration of diversity” approach is aimed at fully protecting the rights of children (individual rights) and of their families and communities (collective rights). This means that it is based on the recognition of diversity and the uniqueness of different ways of life, while also seeking to prevent and eliminate discrimination in all forms of interaction and action by the entities responsible for early childhood education, within the framework of comprehensive early childhood services.
13.In operations manuals on early education modalities, guidelines are provided on human resources and how they should relate to users in a framework of respect, trust, empathy and consideration, refraining from behaviours or expressions of discrimination, rejection, indifference, stigmatization or anything else that affects users’ comprehensive protection, and specifying that visual elements and resources should avoid social stereotypes that lead to discrimination. These guidelines, in accordance with article 4 of the Children’s and Adolescents’ Code, apply to all Colombian and foreign children in the national territory and to those with dual nationality, when one of those nationalities is Colombian.
Ministry of Education
14.Participation mechanisms have been implemented, such as suggestion boxes and the opening of institutional spaces for the participation of children, adolescents and parents of Venezuelan origin. Other establishments have highlighted the issue of xenophobia through the efforts of international and community organizations, neighbourhood associations and youth organizations. The aim is to promote community integration through campaigns to combat xenophobia.
15.Under the National System for Socialization in Schools component of the “Environments for Life, Socialization and Citizenship” strategy, progress is being made in the design, dissemination and application of the xenophobia prevention protocol and in an educational strategy for its implementation.
16.In 2020, a xenophobia prevention protocol was designed, along with an educational strategy for its implementation. In addition, an infographic on the prevention of xenophobia was developed and published as part of the school socialization toolkit. A total of 1,061 school counsellors took part in capacity-building, inter alia to learn how to work with educational communities to develop strategies that contribute to the prevention of discrimination, in particular racism and xenophobia. At present, 96 territorial School Socialization Committees are being strengthened through a process of awareness-raising and technical support, in order to promote intersectoral actions that help to prevent xenophobia. Some 1,200 new school counsellors are being trained to implement strategies to prevent discrimination.
17.The territorial committees bring together regional and municipal entities whose mission is to promote, protect and, when necessary, restore the rights of children, adolescents and young people. In addition to taking immediate action in response to cases of school violence, harassment or violation of sexual and reproductive rights, they are tasked with participating in the creation of strategies that allow the educational community to enjoy learning environments free of exclusion and stigmatization.
18.Under Act No. 1620 of 15 March 2013 establishing the National System for Socialization in Schools and Human Rights Education, Sex Education and Prevention and Mitigation of School Violence, the territorial committees are to create their own action plans, identifying the needs and opportunities observed in the school environment. The objective is to provide a comprehensive response to situations and problems that affect socialization in the educational community, within the framework of the Road Map for Comprehensive Services and its components. In this case, the aim is to eliminate barriers and obstacles that might be preventing migrant children, adolescents and young people from fully exercising their rights. The plan must include at least:
(a)An analysis of the local context;
(b)The objectives to be achieved;
(c)The strategies and activities to be carried out;
(d)Identification of the persons responsible and the economic and human resources available;
(e)Determination of the performance indicators to be used to monitor the strategies; and
(f)A schedule with a fixed duration. Similarly, in the feedback and follow-up process, any adjustments and changes necessary for achieving the stated purposes should be specified.
Attorney General’s Office
19.The Attorney General’s Office reports the following advancements:
(a)A fourth version of the Office’s handbook on user services has been posted on its website since December 2019; the handbook must be applied by all staff. The handbook establishes guidelines for standardizing user services and is aimed at strengthening service management through a differentiated approach, using the Office’s different access channels, taking into account the physical, cultural and social diversity of the population. Migrant workers and members of their families have the same guarantees of access to the Office as Colombian nationals, and can therefore exercise the same right of access to justice;
(b)Regarding the number of discrimination cases in the last two years that were found to have been based on the victim’s status as a migrant, the Office’s operational information systems do not have variables for disaggregating information on victims by migration status (internal or external). To answer this question, cases in which it could be established that the victims were of non-Colombian nationality were selected and analysed using the oral adversarial criminal justice system database, which contains updated information on criminal complaints received, crimes reported and the main actions carried out with respect to them;
(c)By this means, it was found that, between 2019 and 31 July 2021, the above-mentioned database contained records on 50 victims and 30 trials for the offences of acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) and harassment (art. 134B), where the victims were not of Colombian nationality. The data were organized in a table showing information from the judicial system on the number of cases and victims, disaggregated by nationality, stage of the process, year of the incident and alleged offence.
Total number of victims and cases, by specific offence and country of birth of victims not born in Colombia, for incidents between 1 January 2019 and 31 July 2021
|
Stage of the process |
Year of incident |
Offence |
Victim ’ s country of birth |
Total cases (*) |
Total victims (*) |
|
Inquiry |
2019 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
Brazil |
1 |
2 |
|
Inquiry |
2019 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
Venezuela |
5 |
5 |
|
Inquiry |
2020 |
Harassment based on race, religion, ideology, politics, or national, ethnic or cultural origin (art. 134B) |
Italy |
1 |
1 |
|
Inquiry |
2019 |
Harassment based on race, religion, ideology, politics, or national, ethnic or cultural origin (art. 134B) |
Venezuela |
1 |
1 |
|
Inquiry |
2020 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
France |
1 |
1 |
|
Inquiry |
2020 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
Mexico |
1 |
1 |
|
Inquiry |
2020 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
Mongolia |
1 |
1 |
|
Inquiry |
2020 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
Venezuela |
4 |
9 |
|
Inquiry |
2020 |
Harassment based on race, religion, ideology, politics, or national, ethnic or cultural origin (art. 134B). |
Venezuela |
2 |
9 |
|
Inquiry |
2021 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
South Korea |
1 |
1 |
|
Inquiry |
2021 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
Spain |
1 |
1 |
|
Inquiry |
2021 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
Venezuela |
2 |
4 |
|
Inquiry |
2021 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
Venezuela |
1 |
1 |
|
Inquiry |
2021 |
Harassment based on race, religion, ideology, politics, or national, ethnic or cultural origin (art. 134B) |
Venezuela |
3 |
6 |
|
Conciliation |
2019 |
Harassment based on race, religion, ideology, politics, or national, ethnic or cultural origin (art. 134B) |
Venezuela |
1 |
1 |
|
Conciliation |
2020 |
Harassment based on race, religion, ideology, politics, or national, ethnic or cultural origin (art. 134B) |
Venezuela |
1 |
1 |
|
Conciliation |
2021 |
Acts of racism or discrimination (art. 134A) |
Venezuela |
3 |
5 |
|
Total |
30 |
50 |
20.When interpreting the information, it is important to keep in mind that:
(a)The data were processed and analysed using the information system for cases in the oral adversarial criminal justice system, with a cut-off date of 25 August 2021;
(b)The figures provided correspond to the cases filed with the Attorney General’s Office, which means that:
•The number of victims in a reference period may be equal to or greater than the total number of criminal complaints;
•Cases do not necessarily represent individual incidents. It is possible that a victim may be recorded in more than one criminal complaint or that more than one incident may be investigated under the same criminal complaint;
•The year of entry in the system is not necessarily the year in which the incident occurred. An incident may have occurred prior to the year in which it was brought to the attention of the Attorney General’s Office;
•The database search excluded cases that were discontinued or dismissed because the alleged incident had not taken place or did not constitute an offence;
•There is a significant level of underreporting with respect to the variables referring to victims’ nationality. This is caused by gaps or ambiguities in the information at the time the complaint is received or as the criminal proceedings progress. However, such information may exist in the physical files kept in each of the units of the Attorney General’s Office that have investigated cases with the above-mentioned characteristics;
•Cases recorded as being at the “conciliation” stage may constitute recording errors, as such cases are entered manually in the system.
B.Follow-up information relating to paragraph 41 of the concluding observations
21.The Government of Colombia has implemented various measures to comply with the recommendations under paragraph 41, through entities such as the Ministry of Labour, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, the Ministry of Health and Social Security and the Ministry of Education.
Ministry of Labour
22.The main advances made by this institution are as follows:
(a)The employability road map of the Public Employment Service was implemented, enabling migrants to register with the Service nationwide, regardless of their migration status, to look for employment and receive guidance;
(b)Adjustments have been made to the requirements for the competency certification processes administered by the National Learning Service, taking into account the needs of the migrant population and the labour market. In 2021, in conjunction with the Inter-American Development Bank, the “Knowledge is worth it” programme was launched for the migrant and local population; under this programme, more than 3,000 participants will be certified as meeting various standards, thus facilitating their employment;
(c)In coordination with Migration Colombia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labour created the special residence permit for the promotion of formalization; this is intended to enable migrants with irregular status to regularize their status through formal employment;
(d)Also of note is the opening of spaces for awareness-raising, guidance and training for the actors involved in socioeconomic integration (civil servants, host population, entrepreneurs and Venezuelan migrants and returnees). This is intended to overcome the disinformation spread by different actors on the processes of hiring and socioeconomically integrating migrants from Venezuela;
(e)The Ministry of Labour, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Attorney General’s Office and the British Embassy have developed a mechanism for identifying possible cases of trafficking in persons for purposes of forced labour. It was officially launched on 30 July 2021, after a thorough technical review with the participation of the International Labour Organization. It will start with training and awareness-raising for more than 1,300 labour inspectors on the crime of trafficking in persons for various purposes. Emphasis will be placed on forced labour and service, the functions of inspectors in relation to the crime and the referral process with the Attorney General’s Office and the departmental committees on combating trafficking in persons.
Colombian Family Welfare Institute
23.In the case of children and pregnant women from abroad who do not have documentation, the Institute’s service providers have implemented a system of starting the relevant procedures with the competent authority and taking the appropriate steps, in accordance with the guidelines established at the central level by the Colombian Family Welfare Institute.
24.Regarding children who were born in Colombia on or after 19 August 2015 to Venezuelan parents and who do not have an identity document, service providers offer guidance on the risk of statelessness and coordinate with the competent authorities to arrange for the registration of such children, in accordance with the regulations set out in National Civil Registry Office Decision No. 8470 of 5 August 2019, or regulations that replace, amend or otherwise supersede them.
25.For children and pregnant women from Venezuela, service providers are to take special residence permits into account, in accordance with Decree No. 1288 of 25 July 2018, whereby measures were adopted to ensure access to institutional services by persons entered in the administrative register of Venezuelan migrants and other provisions were adopted on the return of Colombians. For pregnant women from abroad whose immigration status is irregular, documents such as a valid foreign national’s identity card, a valid or expired passport issued by the country of origin, or a valid or expired identity card issued by the country of origin may be taken into account while their immigration status is being regularized.
26.In the case of services for the foreign population, families are given guidance to ensure that they follow the procedures of the Ministry of Health for the registration of foreigners and Colombian returnees in the General Health and Social Security System. In the specific case of Venezuelan migrant children, action is taken in accordance with Decree No. 1288 of 25 July 2018. Under paragraph 2.6.1. regarding the adaptation of services, in special circumstances, to ensure that appropriate care is provided, the provision of services to migrants in transit and circular migrants is established as one such special situation. Moreover, to guarantee insurance for the migrant population under the protection of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, actions have been carried out on access to health-care services through the issuance of Decree No. 64 of 25 January 2020, amending articles 2.1.3.11, 2.1.3.13, 2.1.5.1, 2.1.7.7, 2.1.7.8 and 2.1.3.17 and adding articles 2.1.5.4 and 2.1.5.5 to Decree No. 780 of 2016, on persons registered in the subsidized system and ex officio registration, and other provisions, and the issuance of Decree No. 216 of 1 March 2021, on the adoption of the rules on temporary protected status for Venezuelan migrants under the temporary protection system and other provisions on migration. For the application of these provisions, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute provides guidelines for Family Ombudsman offices to carry out registration procedures in the General Health and Social Security System for children and adolescents undergoing an administrative process for the restoration of rights and adolescents and young people in the adolescent criminal justice system, regardless of their nationality or immigration status.
27.All children, adolescents and young people under the responsibility of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (in an administrative process for the restoration of rights or the adolescent criminal justice system), whether Colombians or foreigners, are guaranteed equal access to health services. There is a special procedure for coordination between the two sectors to ensure the proper registration of those without identity documents, a situation that is common among foreign children, adolescents and young people. It also establishes, inter alia, the steps to be followed by the administrative authorities to ensure that health secretariats and health-care service providers register migrant children and adolescents in an irregular situation who are in an administrative process for the restoration of rights or the adolescent criminal justice system.
28.Decree No. 216 of 2021 established a protection mechanism for the Venezuelan migrant population, stating that Venezuelan children and adolescents who are in an administrative process for the restoration of rights or the adolescent criminal justice system and who meet the established criteria, and those who are in Colombia or who enter the country within the 10 years of the status’s validity, will be eligible for the temporary protection permit. As a result, minors under 18 years of age and young people will be able to regularize their immigration status and will have equal access to State social programmes that guarantee their rights. Regularizing the immigration status of Venezuelan children, adolescents and young people under the responsibility of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute will enable them to overcome barriers in the education sector related to the issuance of certificates and diplomas, so that these persons will receive those documents once they successfully complete their studies. Similarly, with the temporary protection permit, they can enrol in job training programmes, which are essential for their socioeconomic integration.
29.Within this framework, the Ministry of Health, in Decision No. 1178 of 5 August 2021, has included the temporary protection permit as a valid identity document for Venezuelan migrants. This will facilitate future health insurance procedures for children, adolescents and young people with protected status.
Ministry of Education
30.With regard to education, it should be noted that the Government of Colombia has provided the necessary guidelines and made the necessary regulatory adjustments to guarantee the constitutional right to education and access to the different forms of assistance, with equal opportunities for the migrant population of Venezuelan origin, including those who lack documentation in Colombia and whose immigration status is irregular. Migrants’ access to the education system, and their well-being and ability to remain in the system, are guaranteed in order to integrate them into society and as a means of development, given that access to quality education enables individuals to escape the cycle of poverty. The Government of Colombia has made significant efforts to address, protect against and prevent violations of the rights of the migrant population from Venezuela, giving priority to children and adolescents. To this end, the Ministry of Education has taken the following actions:
(a)It has led technical, regulatory and political processes that have resulted in the inclusion, in 2021, of more than 479,000 migrant students of Venezuelan origin in preschool, primary and secondary education, as part of its commitment to solidarity. In Colombia, education is a fundamental right and a public service enshrined in the Constitution, which extends the recognition of this right to foreign citizens in Colombian territory;
(b)The regulatory framework has been updated and adapted to:
(i)Make the documentation requirements for enrolling in and receiving education more flexible;
(ii)Register children in the official enrolment information system;
(iii)Validate education completed in Venezuela by means of assessments;
(iv)Allow access to services and to welfare and retention strategies such as school meals and transportation, on an equal basis with Colombian citizens; and
(v)Provide assistance and support in immigration regularization processes for undocumented students and introduce State tests to validate secondary education;
(c)According to the July 2021 report, the Integrated Enrolment System shows that more than 479,000 Venezuelan refugee and migrant children and adolescents are enrolled in the Colombian education system, an increase of 1,409 per cent compared to the 2018 baseline (34,000 students);
(d)Strategies have been implemented to prevent xenophobia in school environments and host communities, and funding for the school meals programme was increased, helping to retain students in the system. In order to achieve the effective integration and educational inclusion of the migrant population, the Colombian education sector has been called upon to create new capacities to mobilize the development of high-quality inclusive education; encourage democratic dialogue on the recognition of diversity; promote solidarity in educational communities; and lead a process of institutional adaptation, based on flexibility and openness, for strengthening the social fabric;
(e)The Ministry of Education has worked closely with other government sectors in seeking and promoting alternatives for regularizing the immigration status of students of Venezuelan origin enrolled in the education system (preschool, primary and secondary school), in order to facilitate their access to and progress through the system;
(f)The rules on temporary protected status for Venezuelan migrants provide for two legal tools:
(i)The Single Register of Venezuelan Migrants under the temporary protection regime, which is proposed as a large-scale administrative register containing information on Venezuelan citizens who wish to stay in Colombia (it has been operational since 5 May 2021 and can be accessed through the website of Migration Colombia); and
(ii)The temporary protection permit, an identity document that will be issued to Venezuelan citizens who meet the established requirements, which are much more flexible than those set out previously in the various regularization processes used since the beginning of the Venezuelan migration crisis;
(g)Given that the temporary protected status for Venezuelan migrants is intended to protect the migrant population that is currently in an irregular situation, and considering that this population is the most vulnerable and includes children, adolescents and young people in the education system, progress is being made, with the Special Administrative Unit of Migration Colombia, on the establishment of protocols for the exchange of information that will contribute to the creation of the Single Register of Venezuelan Migrants. This will ensure that, during the 10-year term of the temporary protected status, progress will be made in ensuring that such students complete their education and are able to definitively regularize their immigration status in Colombia.
31.Despite the positive impact of the efforts made, there are still significant gaps in covering the basic needs of a constantly growing migrant population. Between November 2018 and July 2021, the percentage increase is reported to be 1,409 per cent. There is an urgent need for the international community to provide greater support to Colombia in order to develop joint projects for providing comprehensive services and thereby improving the conditions of the manifestly vulnerable refugee, migrant and returnee population.
Ministry of Health and Social Security
32.Since 2018, work has been carried out to define cooperation modalities to adequately channel the supply of and demand for national and international support in order to meet the needs identified in the territorial units most affected by the demand for services from the migrant population. Under these modalities, the Ministry has negotiated 42 cooperation projects or actions with 7 countries and approximately 13 international organizations and NGOs for the donation of medicines, rapid tests and biomedical equipment to support the provision of health-care services and insurance. It has also mobilized US$ 287 million to strengthen the capacities of institutions and health-care personnel.
33.Since 2018, the cluster partnership with the Pan American Health Organization has been strengthened to coordinate international cooperation and humanitarian assistance resources. This is being done in light of the recognition of gaps in health care and the need to channel support in accordance with the policies defined by the State for the provision of services to migrants from Venezuela, especially those who are not registered with the health-care system. The participants in this initiative consist of more than 60 organizations, including United Nations agencies and national and international NGOs, which provide complementary health care to the migrant population. The partnership works in coordination with the Inter-Agency Group on Mixed Migration Flows, through which resources are sought from international donors to finance the country’s Refugee and Migrant Response Plan.