Major events in Mexico City showcase recommendations of the North and Central American Task Force on Migration and outline opportunities for regional cooperation
On May 19, members of the North and Central American Task Force on Migration met with Mexican, Canadian and American officials as well as ambassadors from across the region to discuss concrete options for filling key governance gaps and promoting better coordination of the often-disjointed response to migration in the region.
READ: News Release — Migration in North and Central America: Regional Responsibility and Opportunity
The recommendations stress regional responsibility sharing and outline specific ways to improve regional mechanisms, support development and protection strategies by involving civil society, and expanding labor and protection pathways for refugees and migrants.
The Task Force is an initiative of the World Refugee & Migration Council in partnership with the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, El Colegio de México, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and the Inter-American Dialogue, with support from the Government of Canada. Read more here.
Mexico City Launch Event at Mexico’s Foreign Relations Secretariat
The launch event and separate private briefings were hosted by Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Relations (SRE) Marcelo Ebrard and Roberto Velasco Álvarez, director of the SRE’s North American Unit. Canadian Ambassador to Mexico Graeme Clark and US Ambassador Roberto Salazar spoke at the event. Task Force Co-chair Silvia Giurguli Saucedo presented the recommendations on behalf of the Task Force. World Refugee & Migration Council Chair Lloyd Axworthy also spoke at the launch, highlighting the need for regional responsibility sharing and the contributions of Madeleine K. Albright who served as Co-chair of the Task Force.
Roundtable Meeting with North and Latin American Diplomats
Canadian Ambassador Graeme Clark hosted a roundtable meeting of ambassadors and international organization representatives from across the region. Shauna Hemingway, deputy head of mission at the embassy, moderated the discussion, with Task Force member and former Canadian ambassador Guillermo Rischynski presented Task Force recommendations.
During the discussion, other Task Force members provided background analysis on the group’s work, including co-chair Julieta Castellanos and members Rafael Fernandéz de Castro, Beatriz Zepeda and Allert Brown-Gort.
