Panama — Flow Monitoring of Migrant Population — Darién (June 2024)

The province of Darien is located on the eastern border of Panama and its territory is one of the migratory crossings most used by people on the move through the Americas, from the south to the north of the continent. This crossing is highly dangerous due to the geographical characteristics of the Darien National Park and the presence of organized crime. People who transit it are exposed to various risks such as human trafficking, smuggling, gender-based violence, various forms of exploitation and abuse. The use of these unsafe crossings to reach temporary or final destinations poses threats to the integrity, dignity, and lives of migrants and refugees. 

Currently, Panama maintains the Operation Controlled Flow active, which provides humanitarian assistance and transfers hundreds of migrants and refugees daily to the Temporary Migrant Reception Centres (hereinafter, ETRM) in the province of Darien. The migrants and refugees enter through the communities of Bajo Chiquito and Canaan Membrillo, located in the Embera-Wounaan indigenous region in the interior of the province of Darien in Panama, and are transferred respectively to the different ETRMs.

Between 28 May and 25 June, flow monitoring surveys were conducted to the migrant and refugee population in transit through the ETRM of the province of Darien. In total, surveys were conducted with 251 representatives of travel groups. In these surveys, information was obtained on 554 companions of the interviewed representatives.