Join this HPN webinar on 5th July 2017, 15.00-16.30 BST to discuss the challenges of providing humanitarian assistance in Central America.
Contributing chair
- Wendy Fenton @WendyFenton1 – Coordinator, Humanitarian Practice Network
Speakers
- Marc Bosch Bonacasa @MarcBurilla – Program Manager for Latin America, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
- Wendy Cue @WendyCue – Head, OCHA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean
- Christian Visnes @chrivis – Country Director, NRC Colombia and region
- Noah Bullock @NoahFBullock – Executive Director, Cristosal (El Salvador)
Over the last decade, organised criminal violence in Central America has resulted in some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Vulnerable communities in the Northern Triangle countries – Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras – have been forcibly displaced within countries, across the region and northwards into the United States and Mexico.
What can humanitarians do to provide greater assistance and protection to victims of violence in the region? How can aid agencies identify and assist people without putting them or assistance providers in danger?
Violence is on a scale unprecedented for countries not at war. But there is a certain reluctance among states and aid providers to acknowledge the humanitarian dimensions of this crisis.
This violence is causing forced displacement of entire communities, interrupting education, preventing access to basic medical services, and compounding issues such as sexual violence as well as child recruitment. Clearly, such large-scale impacts and forced displacement requires a coordinated humanitarian response that provides better protection and assistance for communities.
Read more in the latest edition of our Humanitarian Exchange magazine.
Hi, can I confirm the webinar will start in 40 minutes?
Hi guest, yes – the webinar will start in 40 minutes.
Dear all, thank you for connecting! The webinar will start at 3:30pm.
I got already my tickets. but there is no link. Please provide the Webinar link.
Dear Viridiana, the webinar will be livestreamed on this page.
How can I be connected to the webinar? There’s no sign.
Dear guest, please refresh your browser at 3pm.
Okay~ thank you!
Wendy Fenton, coordinator of the Humanitarian Practice Network is now introducing the event.
Now live, I am looking forward hallo all of you
Dear Rui, we are happy you were able to join us.
The first panellist is Wendy Cue, the Head of the Latin America and Caribbean office of UN OCHA , the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
As we hear from the panellists, please feel free to send through any questions that you would like to pose to them. Just include your name, affiliation (if you have one), and who your question is directed at. And if you are connecting from outside the UK then do let us know as well.
Christian Visnes, the director for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Latin America is now reflecting on the issue.
Dear all, please feel free to send through any questions that you would like to pose to them. Just include your name, affiliation (if you have one), and who your question is directed at. And if you are connecting from outside the UK then do let us know as well.
Interesting points by Wendy Cue, my question is :If the political corruption in those countries also can be an element to take in account to such violence in physic, moral, emotional among others?
Thank you, Rui, for your question. Could you please send through your affiliation and the country you are connecting from?
Thank you, Rui, your question has been passed on to the chair.
Christian: How can you asure that humanitarian aid based on cash is surely used for protection of the families?
Marc Bosch Bonacasa, the Program Manager for Latin America at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is joining us from Spain.
Hi! Regine Webster here from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy – I am curious about how your organizations are supporting your Central American/Northern SA efforts?
Thank you, Regine and Viridiana – your questions are now with the chair.
it will be good to talk as well about the failure of the state in CA to provide basic protection, opportunties as well as a working judiciary system
Thank you, Stefan, we will share your suggestion with the chair.
how can faith organizations contribute to solve the problem?
Thank you, Josue, we’ve sent your question to the chair.
Speaking now is Noah Bullock, Executive Director of Foundation Cristosal.
Another aspect to look at is the connections and communication that happends between the “maras” so they are able to track fleeing people over various countries and find and kill them on their way to the US
Hi, I’m Spanish Red Cross Delegate in Honduras. Two aspects: 1) do the panelists think it can be feasible some kind of joint system along the route to assist migrants? 2) do they think anything can be done in order to make donors deeply understand that violence is a structural emergency issue in the area that needs to be faced urgently? Thanks!
Thank you, Maria, your question is with the chair.
Christian mentioned that humanitarian organisations operating in the region previously focused on reduction of risk from natural disasters, and there is a need for increased technical capacity for operating in conflict-affected settings. I would be interested to hear from him, or others, on the extent to which he thinks there are connections between climate-related risks and the violence in the region – I’m thinking about impacts on rural livelihoods, urbanisation etc.
Greetings from El Salvador! General question: what actions are being taken in order to guarantee that the support/assistance can be sustainable either being assumed by the government or civil society?
No tiene mucho sentido que una discusion de este tipo, tan importante, sea en ingles, pues los actores, que son la misma gente de Centroamerica queda fuera de la discusion. Deberia ser en español, respetando que es el lenguaje que hablamos en el area, de lo contrario es una discusion entre investigadores y gente fuera de la region.
Jeronimo, gracias por tu mensaje. Hemos tomado sus comentarios a bordo. una versión en español del documento habra disponible muy pronto
I AM Paulo Ueti, from Anglican Alliance UK based in Brazil: to all: is there in the region other religou groups rather only christians/churches supporting and responding the needs? or some multi Faith coalision to network with? considering the big role religion place in the latin américa ….
Dear Paulo, thank you for your question.
Program officer for Central America – Government of Canada – I’m wondering if panelists could give us their perspective as to how violence affects women differently than men in the region. Thank you.
Dear all, you may also wish to read this: http://odihpn.org/magazine/the-humanitarian-consequences-of-violence-in-central-america/ .
Wendy mentioned briefly the response to the European refugee situation (I am not calling it a ‘crisis’…). To what extent does she think that the media focus on Europe has diverted attention from Central America? On the flipside, could it be convenient not to focus on the CA, as ultimately it is an issue for the USA?
Thank you, Fotini, your question is with the chair.
We encourage you to carry on the discussion on Twitter by using #ViolenceCentAm.
Could we declare VIOLENCE as a HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY of CATEGGORIA III?
Dear all, thank you for connecting. We look forward to seeing your comments and suggestions on Twitter.