On March 20, IOM Guatemala inaugurated its second Migration Resource Center – in Spanish Centro de Atención y Protección para Personas Migrantes y Refugiadas (CAPMiR) in Tecún Umán, San Marcos. 

This inauguration took place in the presence of the IOM Regional Director for North, Central America and the Caribbean, Michele Klein Solomon; the IOM Chief of Mission in Guatemala, Stéphanie Daviot; representatives of the Government of Guatemala such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores; the Departmental Governor of San Marcos, José Luis Vásquez, and the Mayor of Tecún Umán, Rubén Méndez.

“I am very pleased to celebrate with you the opening of the CAPMiR of Tecún Umán, with the certainty that it will be a space that will benefit many migrants in vulnerable situations and will enrich the tradition and vocation of solidarity that this city has, has had and will have for our migrant brothers and sisters”, said Michele Klein Solomon, Regional Director of IOM for North, Central America and the Caribbean.

“Here, people will find an oasis of hope, and no one can understand that until they experience it. That is why IOM’s idea of placing this CAPMiR here makes sense”, expressed Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In addition, several partners attended the inauguration, as well as IOM members, migrants and other counterparts.

“The decision to establish a CAPMiR in Tecún Umán is the fruit of numerous consultations with various partners, including government institutions such as the Guatemalan Migration Institute, United Nations agencies, international, national and local NGOs, the Guatemalan Red Cross and the Casas del Migrante.  

We are very grateful to all the people consulted and to those who helped us establish this center in Tecún Umán”, mentioned Stéphanie Daviot, IOM Chief of Mission in Guatemala.

The main objective of the Care and Protection Centers for Migrants and Refugees (CAPMiRs) is to provide on-site humanitarian and protection assistance, including immediate assistance for medical and psychosocial needs, information on regular migration channels and the dangers of irregular migration, legal advice, vulnerability screening of persons in need of protection, support with humanitarian transport for migrants in extremely vulnerable situations, and referrals to IOM's program to facilitate Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) or to benefit from (re)integration and labor migration opportunities, and to other partners' programs. IOM thanks the Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration (PRM) for the funding allocated for the implementation of this project and for continuing to rely on IOM as a strategic partner.  

For more information, please contact Claire GAULIN, Programme Manager - Tel: +502 3012-7556, E-mail: cgaulin@iom.int.