A Chronic Displacement Crisis in the Western Hemisphere

A Conversation with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres

3:30-4:30pm, Thursday, April 26

Longworth 1539

Moderated by Rhoda Margesson, Specialist in International Humanitarian Policy

Congressional Research Service

At the recent Summit of the Americas in Colombia, there was much discussion about regional security gains. While some of those advances are real, the realities of internal displacement in the hemisphere illuminate an often overlooked security and humanitarian situation:  

• ·In Colombia, nearly 10% of the population has been displaced by armed conflict;

• ·In Mexico, violence has caused a disturbing spike in displacement, with 115,000 forcibly displaced and another 115,000 fleeing across the US border;

• ·In Haiti, half a million people still live in tent camps following the 2010 earthquake; and

• ·Across Latin America, displaced women and girls are especially vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence, forced impregnation, and human trafficking.

This brief snapshot only scratches the surface of displacement in Latin America. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the primary body overseeing the protection and rights of the hemisphere’s estimated 5.4 million displaced people and refugees. I hope you will join us for a timely conversation with UNHCR High Commissioner António Guterres, who will discuss the current reality and future challenges of this hemispheric crisis.

This will be the kickoff event in an on-going monthly briefing series I am hosting called Latin America on the Rise, which will bring in a diversity of speakers to address emerging and emergent issues in the hemisphere. I hope you can join us at 3:30pm, Thurs, April 26 in Longworth 1539 for this important conversation. If you have any questions, please contact Caitie Whelan ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) in my office.

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