Panama/Geneva, 10 September 2018 – The largest movement of people across the Americas in recent years is causing growing humanitarian needs across the region, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said today.According to the United Nations, around 2.3 million people are believed to be on the move. The situation is especially increasing in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and several countries in the Caribbean.Mr Walter Cotte, IFRC Regional Director for the Americas, said: “America is a continent of migrants, but the volume of people on the move at this time is overwhelming – and so are the humanitarian needs.“We are especially concerned about emerging health needs among migrants and host communities, including the emergence of life-threatening diseases such as measles, diphtheria, malaria and tuberculosis, among others. It is imperative that people have access to basic health care, clean water and sanitation.”In addition to concerns over disease outbreaks, Red Cross volunteers and staff are also warning that people who have non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are especially vulnerable due to the long delay in getting proper treatment. It is also important to consider actions to promote social inclusion, to enhance mutual awareness and understanding between migrant and transit and host communities.IFRC has launched a 7.4 million Swiss franc regional appeal to bolster the Red Cross response. In addition to health services, the appeal is also seeking funds for efforts to strengthen social cohesion, and to respond to needs created within host communities.Mr Cotte said: “The fast rise in the number of migrants has put a lot of pressure on the region's public health systems and on the social dynamics of host countries.“Our regional appeal and the assistance we provide will focus on the dignified and safe treatment of people across the migratory cycle. The human rights of migrants - particularly children, women, and people affected by human trafficking - must be protected and promoted.”IFRC and National Red Cross Societies are working closely with Governments, national and international humanitarian actors and other partners, including from the private sector.In July 2018, IFRC launched a revised 4.8 million Swiss franc Emergency Appeal on behalf of the Colombia Red Cross, to support 120,000 of the most vulnerable people on the move over a 12-month period.

Panama/Geneva, 31 August 2018 – Help, respect and compassion are needed in response to the massive and continuous movement of people across Venezuela and several other countries in the Americas, the President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said today.It is estimated that between 1.6 million and 4 million people are currently on the move in search of relief from instability or insecurity in their home countries.Mr Francesco Rocca, President of IFRC, said: “It´s been a long time since the Americas has seen such a large movement of people, and the situation is affecting several countries in the region. This will become a very serious crisis if they are met with hostility and exclusion, instead of the help, respect and compassion that all vulnerable people need, no matter who they are or where they are from.”IFRC is increasingly concerned about the safety of older migrants, women and children on the move across the Americas region and has carried out a detailed assessment of the situation in Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Ecuador and Peru. The risk of diseases such as measles, diphtheria and tuberculosis is high, and IFRC is increasing the support given to National Red Cross Societies working to meet the growing humanitarian needs.Mr Rocca said: “Our Red Cross volunteers and staff are reporting high numbers of people on the road with serious medical needs that require urgent attention.“People have many reasons for crossing a border, but all human beings deserve to be treated with dignity and they must be able to access basic health services on their journeys. Lives are at stake, and our humanity must be allowed to extend across borders.”National Red Cross Societies are working together closely to support the most vulnerable people on the move across the region and the host communities they pass through, with a focus on health care, psychosocial support, water and hygiene, shelter, food, protection and the development of livelihood strategies. IFRC is supporting the regional Red Cross network and coordinating with other agencies that are responding to the growing crisis.

Sarajevo/Budapest/Geneva, 19 July 2018 – Dozens of people are being treated daily for injuries sustained while attempting to cross from Bosnia and Herzegovina into Croatia, says the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).More than 8,000 people have arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the start of the year – eight times the number who arrived in 2017. This includes 3,000 who have arrived in the past four weeks. Most people are in the country’s north west, close to the border with Croatia, with at least 700 sleeping in a derelict building in Bihac town.In Bihac, first aid teams from the Bosnia and Herzegovina Red Cross are treating up to 70 people per day – many of whom have suffered injuries while attempting to cross the border into Croatia.IFRC spokesperson in Bihac, Nicole Robicheau, said: “The conditions close to the border are grossly inadequate and we’re concerned for people’s safety. Families are sleeping on the ground without any proper shelter, without bedding or blankets - people don’t want to stay here but they are effectively stranded. Each day, people try to move onwards to Croatia but many return with injuries.”Red Cross teams in Bihac are providing support including first aid, food, clothes, and information. But with hundreds of people arriving or transiting through the region each week, local resources have been overwhelmed. In late June, IFRC released 200,000 Swiss francs from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to bolster local efforts.“We are seeing a rise in the number of families arriving which is a cause for concern,” said Robicheau. “One woman who arrived this week gave birth on the way here. These conditions are dire for anyone but families with young children are among the most vulnerable.”Last week, IFRC released a report – New Walled Order – identifying a number of factors that prevent vulnerable migrants from accessing the support they need. Such factors range from the overt – including the fear of harassment, arrest or deportation – to the less obvious, which can include prohibitive costs, cultural and linguistic barriers, and a lack of information about their rights.“We are extremely concerned about reports of violence against people trying to make their way into Croatia,” said IFRC’s Regional Director for Europe, Simon Missiri. “Governments have the right to set and enforce migration policies, but they also have the obligation to ensure that all people, regardless of immigration status, are treated with dignity and respect.“A desire to control one’s border does not justify violence.”

New York 10 July 2018 – A new report by the world’s largest humanitarian network is calling on governments to remove the barriers that prevent vulnerable migrants from accessing basic services and humanitarian aid. Speaking in New York during the final round of negotiations of the Global Compact for Safe Orderly and Regular Migration, Francesco Rocca, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said: “All people, regardless of immigration status, should have access to basic services and humanitarian assistance. There is no need to mistreat people to have proper border control. Preventing access to adequate food, basic health care, and legal advice about their rights is completely unacceptable. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.” IFRC’s report, New Walled Order: How barriers to basic services turn migration into a humanitarian crisis, identifies a number of factors that prevent vulnerable migrants from accessing the support they need. Such factors range from the overt – including the fear of harassment, arrest or deportation – to the less obvious, which can include prohibitive costs, cultural and linguistic barriers, and a lack of information about their rights. In addition, in some parts of the world, governments are enacting laws that effectively criminalize humanitarian assistance, including search and rescue and emergency assistance for undocumented migrants. “This criminalization of compassion is extremely worrying, and could undermine more than a century of humanitarian standards and norms,” said Mr Rocca. “What’s more, the idea that the prospect of basic assistance or search and rescue somehow acts as a pull factor for migration is simply not true. People decide to move for reasons that are much more profound than this.” This year, governments are negotiating a new “Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration”. IFRC is advocating for governments to ensure that their domestic laws, policies, procedures and practices comply with existing obligations under international law, and address the protection and assistance needs of migrants. National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are ready to support their authorities to carry out critical humanitarian actions. Specifically, IFRC is calling on states to: Ensure that National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and other humanitarian agencies can provide humanitarian services to migrants irrespective of status and without fear of arrest. Such services might include legal information and advice, information on rights, first aid, basic health care and shelter, and psychosocial support. Create “firewalls” between public services and immigration enforcement. This involves abolishing rules that require health care providers and aid agencies to report on the people they assist to enforcement authorities. Proactively identify and address factors that prevent migrants from accessing essential health services. Ensure that domestic laws, policies, procedures and practices comply with existing obligations under international law, and address the protection and assistance needs of migrants. Access the report here

Budapest/Geneva, 18 June 2018 – Thousands of people making their way through the Balkans are in desperate need of basic humanitarian services and support, says the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The number of people entering Europe through Greece and then making their way towards Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is increasing. More than 5,600 people have reached Bosnia and Herzegovina since the beginning of January, compared with just 754 across the whole of 2017. In Montenegro, authorities have reported 557 asylum requests May 2018 – the highest monthly figure in five years. The Red Cross of Montenegro has assisted more than 1,000 people since the beginning of the year with food, clothes and medical supplies at reception centres and border crossings. Simon Missiri, IFRC Regional Director for Europe said: “We are concerned that people are not receiving the assistance they need. People are keen to keep moving and are reluctant to access state services for fear of being detained. “Red Cross Societies in the Balkans are doing what they can to reach and help people migrating through their territories, but the scale and complexity of this operation is such that more assistance is needed.” In north-western Bosnia and Herzegovina, about 1,000 people are gathered close to the border with Croatia, trapped by the terrain and closed border crossings. Many are sleeping in the open and do not have access to food, water, hygiene and sanitation. One hundred Red Cross volunteers are serving hundreds of hot meals a day at an abandoned university campus in the town of Bihac. Volunteers are also distributing sleeping bags, clothes and hygiene kits, and providing medical assistance. “These people are extremely vulnerable,” said IFRC’s Missiri. “Regardless of their migration status, they, like everyone, should be able to access basic services, and should be protected from harm.” Bosnia and Herzegovina is the most mine contaminated country in Europe, with land mines covering 2.2 per cent of its territory. Some mine fields are still active in the areas where people are trying to cross the border. To warn people of the danger, Red Cross volunteers are distributing flyers in towns and camps close to the border.