UN Women held a Webinar on how to incorporate Gender Keys into Venezuela's Regional Plan of Response to Refugees and Migrants 2021

On 13 August, UN Women held a webinar on the key gender issues to be taken into account during the planning of the Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan  (RMRP) 2021 of the Regional Interagency Coordination Platform for the response to the mixed flows of people from Venezuela (R4V). 

The event was targeted at professionals from United Nations Agencies and international organizations involved in responding to the situation of migrants and refugees from Venezuela. A total of 159 people from more than 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries participated, representing more than 40 organizations and UN agencies that work in response to the situation of migrants and refugees from Venezuela in the different countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The meeting was held in Spanish, but simultaneous translation into English and Portuguese was provided.

The event was organized jointly by the Regional Coordination and the regional gender focal points designated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN Women, as a first task for activating the Regional Gender Task Force to respond to flows from Venezuela (R4V). 

Latin America and the Caribbean hosts one of the fastest growing movements of migrants and refugees in the world, with more than 5.2 million Venezuelans having left their homes, about 85% of whom are in the region.  Although some countries do not have sex-disaggregated data, it is estimated that women and girls account for about half of the people who face multiple risks, barriers, and situations of vulnerability in transit and destination countries. Attention has also been drawn to the serious gender impacts that especially affect women, girls and LGBTIQ+ people from Venezuela.

With a view to contributing to the implementation of the gender mainstreaming measures contained in the Regional Planning Guide for RMRP 2021, a space has been created for technical assistance and reflection on how to integrate this approach into planning and use the various tools available for that purpose as part of the process of building RMRP 2021.

Ensuring the integration of gender equality and the empowerment of women, girls and LGBTIQ+ people into the Regional Interagency Coordination Platform (R4V) as well as the Plan for Refugees and Migrants of Venezuela is central to providing an effective and comprehensive response to the mixed flows from Venezuela. Gender mainstreaming ensures that the differences and rights of women, girls, boys, men and LGBTIQ+ people are understood and considered in the national and regional response in a comprehensive manner.