As a standard operating procedure, all Philippine Foreign Service posts abroad are mandated to formulate and regularly update crisis contingency plans for the Filipinos working and residing in their respective areas of consular jurisdiction. The contingency plan shall include the procedures for the evacuation of Filipinos to safety zones for temporary relocation, or until their repatriation to the Philippines is possible, in times of civil unrest, war, natural disasters and pandemics. It shall also include roles and responsibilities of Foreign Service Personnel, and attachés/representatives of the different partner agencies. Posts shall undertake representations with the employer and/or concerned authorities of the host government to facilitate the repatriation of Overseas Filipinos, including the issuance of exit visas/pass and waiver or reduction of immigration penalties and other fees. In addition, a coordination office is also established to facilitate the implementation of the contingency plans, especially if the evacuation and eventual repatriation of Filipinos caught in crisis situations would involve several Philippine diplomatic and consular post. The Contingency Plan shall contain, among others, the following items:
1. Country Profile;
2. Political and Security Situation;
3. Current Political Climate, including threats to political stability;
4. Data and profile of the Filipino Community;
5. Area Coordinators, including their contact information;
6. Details on the implementation of the contingency plan;
7. Relocation and Evacuates Centers;
8. Exit Points and alternate evacuation routes;
9. Composition and Functions of the Crises Management and Security Committee, including contact information of Post’s officials and personnel;
10. Support Network;
11. Registration system;
12. Resource inventory; and
13. Budget requirements.
http://globalfilipinomovement.com/?wpfb_dl=1 (Section 31 and 34)
States, employers, recruiters and placement agencies, international organizations, and civil society have contingency plans and procedures to react to and mitigate the risks associated with crises. Many States of origin have contingency plans to assist their citizens abroad. If contingency plans do not exist, they should be developed during the pre-crisis phase to provide sufficient time to consider and test options.
Contingency plans should take into account and integrate migrants’ presence, potential needs, and capacities. Plans should anticipate migrants’ requirements for relocation, evacuation, communication, emergency shelter, food and non-food relief, health care, and psychosocial support. Plans should address ways to identify and respond to the needs of particularly vulnerable populations, such as migrant children, including unaccompanied and separated children, children of migrants in an irregular immigration status, migrant victims of trafficking, elderly migrants, and migrants with disabilities. Plans should also address the protection of migrants in detention. Contingency plans should be flexible, actionable, clear, and adapted to relevant regional, national, and local dynamics.
Involving migrants and civil society in the preparation of contingency plans can be particularly useful. Migrants and civil society can identify circumstances where targeted approaches are necessary to address the specific needs of migrants, such as language requirements. Employers and recruitment and placement agencies should be involved in contingency plans for migrant workers and their families.
Regularly updating and testing contingency plans can also be helpful to identify gaps and weaknesses in actions towards migrants and to ensure those charged with protecting migrants have the authority and capacity to do so. Joint contingency planning between emergency response actors and those working primarily with migrant populations can facilitate resource sharing and common understanding of risks, migrant populations, and local infrastructure. Contingency plans can include a crisis management structure that identifies responsibilities of different actors.
Sample Practices
- Multi-stakeholder contingency plans to share resources and capacities to assist migrants, including by undertaking multi-stakeholder asset mapping exercises.
- Crisis alert systems that monitor crises in host States and direct authorities to act based on the intensity of the crisis, such as obligation to evacuate migrants.
- Evacuation plans that set out clear rules and criteria for carrying out evacuations, such as document requirements and eligibility for evacuation.
- Emergency drills involving migrants to test contingency plans and identify obstacles and challenges.
- Inter-agency contingency plans that take into account migrants’ potential needs in crises.
Limited resources, funding, and technical skills can all affect the robustness of emergency and post-crisis responses. Understanding and assessing these limitations is a critical first step towards overcoming them. Stakeholders’ investment in their own capacity to improve emergency response and post-crisis recovery for migrants is critical.
Capacity building may relate to such varied areas as consular services, training for responders, resource allocation, funding mechanisms, insurance schemes, relief goods and services, border and migration management, and relocation and evacuation. Many of these areas are relevant for both the emergency and post-crisis phases. Stakeholders should also consider addressing potential reintegration challenges for migrants, their families, and communities, facilitating re-employment, income generation, and safe remigration, and supporting migrants to access outstanding wages, assets, and property left in host States.
States, private sector actors, international organizations, and civil society should assist one another to build and improve their capacity to respond. Undertaking advocacy, monitoring and evaluations, raising awareness, conducting training, sharing information, building research and knowledge, and supporting and learning from each other all help to improve collective efforts to protect migrants.
Sample Practices
Training and capacity building of stakeholders, such as on effective ways to access migrants and identify vulnerability and needs.
Dedicated funding to protect migrants, including budget lines, loans, and funding platforms.
Referral mechanisms that map rosters of experts who can address diverse needs of different migrants.
Peer-to-peer exchanges for capacity building and learning on tackling challenges associated with protecting migrants.
Training for consular officials, such as on collecting information on citizens and crisis management, including evacuation.
Monitoring and evaluation of crisis responses that includes analysis of responses towards migrants.
During some crises, stakeholders may be able to protect migrants where they are located in the host State. But this may not always be possible, especially in situations where the repercussions of a conflict or natural disaster envelop large geographic areas. Where protection cannot be provided locally, it may be necessary to relocate migrants to other parts of the host State or evacuate them to States of transit or the State of origin. Some migrants may make these journeys on their own. Many may rely on States, their employers, recruiters, or placement agencies, international organizations, civil society, and other migrants for support and assistance.
Evacuation is generally a last resort but absolutely essential if migrants cannot remain safely where they are and cannot be relocated safely to another part of the host State. Where comprehensive contingency plans and standing evacuation and relocation arrangements are not already in place, ad hoc arrangements may be needed to communicate evacuation information, determine eligibility for evacuation, establish modes of evacuation, and negotiate with States of transit and other actors. States, regardless of whether they are party to relevant international instruments, should implement specific safeguards to ensure individuals who face persecution, or, as appropriate, serious harm or other life-threatening situations in their States of origin or other States, including refugees, are protected against refoulement. Stateless persons may need specific assistance to take advantage of evacuation arrangements. Coordination between States and other stakeholders in carrying out evacuations can leverage resources, for example, to transport migrants to States of origin in the same region.
Sample Practices
Evacuation of migrants to States of transit or States of origin with their informed consent.
Establishment of criteria for eligibility for evacuation.
Multi-stakeholder cooperation on evacuation.
Evacuation for family units who have family members of different nationalities.
Deploying personnel to consular posts to assist with evacuation.