Situation
• On 20 February, relatives of Venezuelans who went missing while traveling to Trinidad and Tobago and Curaçao in 2019, called on the authorities to reactivate the search for the missing group. Families of 59 people who were on their way to Trinidad in two boats, and 32 who were on their way to Curaçao, protested outside the Venezuelan Public Ministry building in Caracas.
• Partners supported the Voluntary National Review Process for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development led by the Government and which will be presented to the United Nations later this year. Partners facilitated focus group discussions for the Ministry of Planning with government representatives and civil society groups on the Sustainable Development Goals #5 Gender Equality and #10 Reduced Inequalities. Partners advocated for the inclusion of the specific experiences of refugees and asylum-seekers in the review.
Response
• In an effort to promote tolerance and reduce xenophobia, partners increased engagement with local groups invested in social cohesion, and conducted focus group discussions about this topic in community schools with the participation of children and youth.
• As part of an anti-xenophobia campaign during Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival, a partner released videos on the participation of artisans and musicians from different countries and cultures, in order to foster social cohesion and promote peaceful coexistence between refugees and migrants and host communities. The content included a Venezuelan activist’s refugee band, a music producer’s discussion about how music evolves with cultural collaboration, a band designer’s discussion of how Carnival welcomes cultural diversity and Carnival’s origins in other cultures.
• The Child Protection Working Group, which includes partners and the Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago was expanded to include the Archdiocese Ministry for Migrants and Refugees, ChildLine and the Gender and Child Affairs division of the Office of the Prime Minister. A 2020 Work Plan was developed identifying several priority areas including the establishment of a Best Interest Determination panel, streamlining of referral pathways, training and capacity building of child protection actors, including Spanish language capacitation, and general coordination.
• 116 boys and 119 girls received protection services, including psycho-social support, family/community based care and appropriate specialized services.
• The Protection Coordination Working Group (PCWG), which includes UN agencies, implementing partners and civil society, in coordination with the government, reviewed the Group’s Terms of Reference and workplan according to current priorities and protection concerns for 2020. The membership of the PCWG will be expanded to new stakeholders such as new government counterparts.
The PCWG also finalized the joint mapping of national services for people in need.
