Regional consultative processes: What have they achieved, what can they achieve?

Based, as noted above, on a sense of regional cooperation, regional consultative processes serve to increase that sense of‘‘being in the same boat”, and help to create a willingness to act cooperatively in the realm of migration which can best be seen in the case of crises. For instance, the Asian economic crisis affected all states in the region, forcing them to work together to deal with the migratory aftermath, namely, the increased flow of irregular migrants and the rise in trafficking in women. In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch hit Central America hard, affecting, in particular, I londuras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The region pulled together, working both within the stricken region and outside: in addition to technical cooperation within the four affected countries, Costa Rica and the United States both offered amnesties to irregular migrants from the hardest hit countries.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions