Rio de Janeiro – IOM, the UN Agency for Migration, and the City Hall of Rio de Janeiro signed a cooperation agreement last Friday (11) to support the municipality in advancing public policies for the vulnerable migrant population and articulate joint actions that help protect, welcome and integrate these people.

“We want to show that our city and our country are ready to receive with open arms, to protect and integrate migrants. We are working so that our policies and services become instruments of protection and support for this population. Our mission is to improve assistance, train and generate opportunities for migrants and refugees”, highlighted the Mayor, Eduardo Paes.

The document foresees coordination between IOM and the municipality’s activities related to migration and akin areas, such as labor migration, human trafficking, migration governance, socioeconomic integration and local development, capacity building, migration crisis management and prevention of gender-based violence and services for victims, among other actions.

“This partnership with the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro is the formalization of our joint work for migrants in recent years”, highlighted IOM Senior Program Manager, Michelle Barron. “We look forward to further strengthening our collaboration with Rio de Janeiro to ensure that women, men, children and young migrants, especially the most vulnerable are welcomed and integrated.”

Since 2020, IOM has been working on several actions in partnership with the city of Rio de Janeiro to strengthen the municipality's capabilities in serving and integrating the migrant population. In addition to participating in the MigraCidades certification that year, Rio engaged its secretariats in actions aimed at improving care for migrants and refugees in 2021.

In partnership with IOM and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Secretariats for Social Assistance and Health organized training courses for professionals from the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS) and the Unified Health System (SUS), respectively, both in November last year. The meetings aimed to inform managers and cutting-edge teams about the rights of these populations, their documentation, the challenges they face in the search for public services and how they can be attended and welcomed in a humanized and culturally appropriate way.

In December, the Municipal Secretary of Labor and Income participated in a job fair held by IOM and Cáritas in Rio de Janeiro, registering migrants and refugees on the Emprega Rio platform, which offers access to job vacancies. In the same month, the “Rio, a Safer City for Women” campaign was launched, a partnership between IOM and the Special Secretariat for Policies and Promotion of Women, with the inauguration of an informative website on violence against women and channels for reporting and supporting victims.

Since 2020, IOM has also supported the reception and economic integration of voluntarily relocated Venezuelans from the North of Brazil through Operation Welcome in Rio de Janeiro, through logistical support, access to information on rights and the inclusion of migrants and refugees in training, entrepreneurship and employability projects.

The economic integration initiatives in Rio de Janeiro are carried out within the framework of the “Opportunities – Integration in Brazil” project, implemented by IOM with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)