In April 2018 the UN Secretary-General provided direction for IOM and UNHCR to lead and coordinate the regional response to the situation of refugees and migrants from Venezuela seeking access to basic rights and services, protection, as well as self-reliance and socio-economic integration. Further to this direction, the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform was established as a forum to coordinate the response efforts across 17 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, with a particular focus on achieving coherency and consistency throughout the response.

At national and sub-regional levels, the Regional Platform is complemented by local coordination mechanisms. Dedicated National and Sub-regional Platforms, collaborating closely with host governments are charged with the operational coordination and implementation of the regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP). Such coordination platforms are in place in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru - at national levels - and in the Caribbean, Central America & Mexico and Southern Cone - at sub-regional levels. Their configuration is based on each situational context and the operational capacities of governments and RMRP partners, taking into account existing coordination structures.