On April 17, 2018 the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) hosted its annual conference on contemporary Rule of Law issues. During the conference, a panel of experts from development communities, leading academics analyzed during a panel discussion the legal aspects of forced migration, “When People Flee: Rule of Law and Forced Migration.” The panel on "Fleeing the Northern Triangle: Poverty, Crime, and Corruption" addressed the question on why the number of people fleeing the Northern Triangle has surged in recent years.

"The panels in this track examined the violent drivers of forced migration from the Northern Triangle and the serious threats and obstacles facing those who attempt to flee north to Mex - ico and the U.S. Among the most vulnerable groups fleeing, according to Julio Guity-Guevara (D.C. Mayor’s Office of Latino Affairs), are indigenous peoples of the region, including the Garifuna. Climate change and rising water levels have destroyed Garifuna communities on the coast, forcing them from their homes. While the numbers fleeing are historically high, they are also a repeat, panelists agreed, of the patterns from the Cold War and conflicts of the 1980s that saw hundreds of thousands of Central Americans traveling to the U.S. Since then, there have been extensive efforts to provide development assistance (40 billion over the decades) in order to promote the growth and stability that will keep people safe at home. These strategies were disconnected from economic reality, argued Manual Orozco of the Inter-American Dialogue, since they stressed work in the agricultural sector, but that sector does not pay well for Central Americans. For Orozco, the reliance on economic remittances is a big reason for migration from this region. cultural sector, but that sector does not pay well for Central Americans."

You can write to Julio at julio@guity.org