SENAFRONT: National Borders Service in Panama
Part of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
The text below is from Wikipedia and the website of the United Nations International Organization for Migration (UN IOM), Regional Office for Central America, North America and the Caribbean. The UN IOM works in Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Surinam.
SENAFRONT (abbreviation of Servicio Nacional de Fronteras, or Servicio Nacional de Fronteras de la República de Panamá) was formed August 8, 2008. It is a branch of the Panamanian Public Forces. Its agents are often trained by the United States Army.
Making Migration Work For All
The Western Hemisphere Program is implemented by the UN IOM and financed by the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
We work to strengthen the capacities of governments and other key stakeholders in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean in order to manage migration in a humane and sustainable manner that considers migrant vulnerabilities.
We have reached a defining moment in the global approach to migration, and it is time for a new IOM strategic direction and renewed energy to deliver on the promise of migration. Migration is and has been for centuries, a cornerstone of development, prosperity, and progress for many. As the world faces major global transformations — from climate change, demographic transition, and urbanization to digitalization — migration can and should be part of the solution. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement provide a road map through which the full potential of migration can be harnessed, and displacement crises resolved, leaving no one behind.
Panama (April 12th, 2020) — The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Panama, provided the National Border Service (SENAFRONT) and the Ministry of Health (MINSA) with personal hygiene and cleaning supplies, as well as personal protection masks and food. These efforts were deployed to support the government’s efforts to aid the extraregional migrants stranded in the country, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the varied dispositions undertaken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the closing of borders has been used by many countries along extraregional migrants’ routes. As a result, over 2,500 migrants who were transiting through Panama in their journey northward are currently, and indefinitely, stranded in Migrant Reception Stations in the borders at Darien and Chiriquí.
“We at IOM believe firmly that, while pandemic impacts direct and indirectly nationals and non-nationals, the effect is not the same on everyone. It widens preexisting gaps that will impact the capacity to overcome the crisis. Even though not all migrants will be affected by the COVID-19 crisis, many of them are members of at-risk and vulnerable populations: refugees, extraregional migrants, people in need of international protection, children and adolescents (especially unaccompanied or separated minors). We cannot leave them behind in the strategies to respond to this crisis, because protecting their rights and their dignity means responding to everyone’s humanitarian needs,” explained Santiago Paz, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Panama.
IOM has worked along with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and in close logistics coordination with SENAFRONT, articulating efforts to better respond to identified needs, not only for migrants and refugees currently in these Migrant Reception Stations, but also to SENAFRONT and MINSA staff providing security and protection in the area.
“We have delivered dry foods, canned goods and oil, as well as 405 bags of groceries prepared to satisfy the needs of five people each, for an estimated period of five to six days. We strive to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading through daily food manipulation, by spacing the frequency of such handouts to avoid contacts. To the same objective, IOM and UNHCR have provided SENAFRONT with masks, disposable towels, gallons of soap and bottles of alcohol,” added Paz.
COVID-19 does not discriminate, and our answer to it should not either. Only with an inclusive focus and not leaving anyone behind, will we be able to overcome an unprecedented, global crisis.
These activities are developed within the framework of the Western Hemisphere Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
Panama expands border security services to guarantee migrants' rights
Metetí, Darién (April 21, 2021) — With the graduation ceremony of its first 150 members on April 19, Panama celebrated the creation of the new Humanitarian Border Security Unit (USFROH). This new unit, which will form part of the Chucunaque Battalion, is the humanitarian arm of the National Border Service (SENAFRONT) and will provide security for migrants, as well as preventive patrols, first aid, rescue and location of people lost in the jungle, as well humanitarian assistance.
The USFROH was established after a joint training process between the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and SENAFRONT, with the support of the Human Mobility Group of the United Nations System in Panama.
Juan Manuel Pino, Minister of Public Security, pointed out that Panama has felt the impact of the arrival of large groups of migrants of different nationalities. Therefore, a special unit was created within SENAFRONT to provide assistance to these people, so that they receive the humanitarian treatment they require while in Panamanian territory.
“Panama is respectful of the International Humanitarian Law, and we have demonstrated it during this pandemic. Last year we improved the humanitarian aspects of the stay of migrants in Panama,” highlighted the head of the Ministry of Public Security.
Minister Pino pointed out that there is currently a controlled flow of migrants entering Panama through the Darien border and on their way to Costa Rica. A current goal, he added, is to have the same level of coordination with the Colombian authorities.
"The training received by our units is of great impact, because for us it is relevant to maintain a community police within the Migration Reception Stations and thus guarantee a better humanitarian assistance to migrants crossing the Darien province" said Oriel Ortega Benitez, General Director of SENAFRONT.
The ceremony was attended by government authorities, representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Panama and representatives of programs, funds and agencies of the United Nations System in Panama. This activity was conducted in the context of capacity building for the management of mixed flows of migrants in Panama, implemented by IOM through the Western Hemisphere Program, with funding from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
The new unit is the operational result of an intersectoral strategy whose goal is to safeguard the safety, dignity and lives of migrants on their way to North American countries through the Darien jungle.
“This clear and precise dimension is undoubtedly the one that can consolidate a good practice in the protection of migrants and that we hope to continue to consolidate more and more, complementing the efforts made by the Government of Panama in the face of the challenges involved in managing migration in a safe, orderly, regular and dignified manner in the context of borders,” said Santiago Paz, head of the Global Administrative Center and the IOM Mission in Panama.
The comprehensive training of USFROH members is essential to give impetus and cohesion to the efforts of the actors involved in promoting good migration management and achieving optimal levels of security within the framework of a culture of peace, through crime prevention strategies and the protection of human rights.
This project is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which recognizes the positive impact of migration on the economic and social development of people and societies. It is composed of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets that include specific content related to international migration. Target 10.7, for example, refers to facilitating migration and orderly migration policies. Target 16.2 says to eradicate child abuse, trafficking and exploitation.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in 2015 by 193 Member States of the United Nations that, with the promise to “leave no one behind,” committed to protect migrants in vulnerable situations and put an end to human trafficking, labor exploitation, abuse, violence and discrimination.