This morning on Sunup we also heard from representatives of UNICEF Belize, the Belize chapter of the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
They stopped by to discuss a joint UN Migration plan that all three organizations are partnering with the Government of Belize on. During that conversation, the representatives also shared an update on the ongoing Amnesty program.
Here's what the UNICEF Belize rep. had to say about how the program is going:
Allison Parker - UNICEF Rep. to Belize
"This is the first time that UNICEF, IOM, and UNHCR are actually coming together to look at how we support one of the most vulnerable groups, the migrants, asylum seekers, as well as persons of concern. And, of course, for us as UNICEF, children are fundamental to all of this because it is families that are on the move. The first signage was last year, so we actually triggered it last year, and we were able to go to the field together with IOM and UNHCR. And, we began to see the need that was on the ground in terms of having access to basic social services for some of these vulnerable groups, having access to health through education, through social protection, because documentation may not necessarily be right or some documentations may be missing, or people just lack the knowledge and the information as to where to get it. And so this year, the three agencies actually started new country programs with the Government of Belize. And it was amazing that we decided that why don't we come again together more strategically and see how we can pool human, financial, and all the resources we have to make sure that as Belize announces this amnesty for 2022, we can actually pool resources and really invest, and make a difference. So, that's the background to this, and we are really pleased that we can come together like this and be able to support the government of the people full time."
