Bolivia Hosts South American Meeting on Migration

Since Tuesday, representatives from eight South American countries have been gathered in La Paz, Bolivia, to discuss the challenges of irregular migration, harmonize their legislations, and manage their borders securely.

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Delegations from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay, alongside representatives from the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the Andean Community (CAN), are convening for a regional meeting titled "Towards Harmonized Regulations for Smooth, Safe, and Respectful Regional Migration."

Bolivia's Deputy Minister of Consular Management, Eva Chuquimia, highlighted one of the main goals of the meeting: to enable countries to "securely, integrally, and cooperatively manage their borders" to ensure the safety of nations, communities, and migrants.

This Andean nation places significant importance on issues related to human mobility, including gender, childhood, adolescence, the trafficking of women, and migrant smuggling.

The text reads, "Every year, hundreds of thousands of migrants cross this dense forest between Colombia and Panama in the hope of reaching the United States one day. It is the Darien jungle that migrants nickname 'The Green Hell'."

Chuquimia emphasized that a comprehensive approach to international migration involves working on social and economic development at both the national and regional levels.

Over two days, the South American delegations will also share their experiences regarding the respect of human rights at borders, the free movement of people, and control systems.

The Bolivian Foreign Affairs Ministry anticipates that this meeting will produce a "roadmap for harmonizing regulations" among the countries to address irregular migration.

In 2022, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) stated that nearly 20 million people in the Americas are refugees, asylum seekers, or displaced persons.