MAE/016
Regional technical assistance fund in Central America

The Regional technical assistance fund (RTAF) aims to support Luxembourg Cooperation partners in Central America by setting up a regional technical assistance mechanism. The technical assistance provided by the RTAF is designed as an additional tool to accompany and monitor projects, rather than as technical assistance to be integrated directly into projects. In its approach, this project places particular emphasis on the cross-cutting priorities of Luxembourg Cooperation' strategy (human rights, gender equality and environmental sustainability), as well as on innovative technologies and capacity building. This fund has an obligation of means rather than an obligation of results, and will therefore make it possible to consolidate support in the region.

The FATR financed a diagnostic study in Costa Rica, to guide the formulation of a bilateral cooperation project on the theme of digitalisation, which will focus on e-governance and spatial digitalisation.

In Costa Rica, this project, in collaboration with Oxfam, aims to strengthen the professional and entrepreneurial skills of migrants and refugees, with a particular focus on women, through the involvement of four civil society organisations. The actions focus on improving professional integration, thus facilitating the participation of migrants in high-demand economic sectors, and on supporting the development of businesses that contribute to their economic autonomy.

The project also addresses aspects that are essential for the socio-economic integration of migrants, such as access to legal advice, management of the documentation needed to regularise their migratory status, and the process of recognising their diplomas obtained in their country of origin. The project is being implemented in a context marked by the ongoing forced displacement of thousands of Nicaraguans to Costa Rica, a direct consequence of the serious socio-political crisis and repeated human rights violations in Nicaragua.