The World Bank SPF Peru: Emergency Response for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees (P174730) Appraisal Environmental and Social Review Summary Appraisal Stage (ESRS Appraisal Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 03/04/2021 | Report No: ESRSA01334 Mar 24, 2021 Page 1 of 9 The World Bank SPF Peru: Emergency Response for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees (P174730) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Peru LATIN AMERICA AND P174730 CARIBBEAN Project Name SPF Peru: Emergency Response for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Social Sustainabilty & Investment Project 3/31/2021 Inclusion Financing Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) International Organization International Organization for Migration for Migration Proposed Development Objective Public Disclosure The Grant Objective is to “provide emergency economic support to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable Venezuelan migrants and refugees in selected Peruvian cities”. Financing (in USD Million) Amount Total Project Cost 3.50 B. Is the project being prepared in a Situation of Urgent Need of Assistance or Capacity Constraints, as per Bank IPF Policy, para. 12? No C. Summary Description of Proposed Project [including overview of Country, Sectoral & Institutional Contexts and Relationship to CPF] The grant would be implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migrations through a RETF (Component 1) Component 1: Emergency Economic Support to Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees (RETF, US$3,499,797). The grant will finance immediate support through one-off unconditional emergency transfer of PEN 760 (approximately US$ 235) to eligible individuals and families. The delivery of cash transfers to eligible beneficiaries who fall under medium or high scale of vulnerability will be implemented through the following modalities: (a) mobile transfers that will be Mar 24, 2021 Page 2 of 9 The World Bank SPF Peru: Emergency Response for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees (P174730) distributed per family, requiring valid identification and a Peruvian mobile number for registration for at least 10,535 families; and (b) prepaid cards for consumption in specific local establishments for at least 3,000 families. The level of the one-off transfer equals the amount that the Peruvian government provides to its citizens and it does not create distortions between the host population and migrants and refugees. Through this multipurpose cash transfer amounting to seven weeks of Minimum Expenses Basket (MEB) in Peru, the target population will be able to meet part of their immediate needs that may include shelter, temporary accommodation, basic medical assistance, food security, personal hygiene supplies, and similar. D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1. Detailed project location(s) and salient physical characteristics relevant to the E&S assessment [geographic, environmental, social] Direct beneficiaries for the cash transfers (mobile transfers and prepaid cards), which is in the Recipient Executed Trust Funded (RETF) component, will be focused in four regions of Peru: Tumbes, Piura, Trujillo, and Lima. These regions are prioritized since some of the major cities/urban areas in Peru are located here, and they include an important number of Venezuelans migrants. Likewise, IOM has previous experience rolling out similar interventions in these territories, which represents an advantage to quickly initiate the intervention. Additional criteria for prioritization in the four regions include: a) Tumbes is the main entry point of Venezuelans crossing into Peru. Venezuelans entering Peru from this point are in unsafe and vulnerable conditions; b) More than 80% of the Venezuelan population in Peru is concentrated in Lima; c) Outside Lima, Piura and Trujillo are the two cities with the most significant number of migrants and refugees, either transiting through or taking up residence. Public Disclosure The proposed period of implementation is nine (9) months. D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity For the purposes of ESF, this project has only one component that is Recipient Executed Trust Funded (RETF). For the implementation of this single Component, the World Bank will provide a grant directly to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) following general fiduciary guidelines described in the Memorandum of Agreement between both institutions that was signed in May 2018. The International Organization for Migration of the United Nations will implement these activities through the Basic Needs Protection Sector. IOM will be responsible for the implementation of the project including administrative, financial, and E&S risk management of the project, including the preparation and execution of the Labor Management Procedures (LMP) and the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP). IOM will coordinate as needed with the Ministry of Social Development and Inclusion (MIDIS), which is responsible for leading strategies focused on the poorest and most vulnerable population including cash transfer programs for the poor Peruvian households. Likewise, IOM will strengthen its presence in Piura and Trujillo. IOM has vast experience designing and implementing humanitarian assistance projects with migrants and refugees, including conditional and non-conditional cash transfers programs. Specifically in Peru, IOM brings to the table the knowledge needed to expedite implementation and are leaders in the Venezuelan migrant and refugee response at the regional and national levels. IOM also has direct experience executing Bank-supported projects and is familiar with the Bank’s safeguards requirements. Although IOM’s technical and humanitarian staff will implement Mar 24, 2021 Page 3 of 9 The World Bank SPF Peru: Emergency Response for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees (P174730) environmental and social requirements in the project given its low risk nature, they will consult with the in-house environmental and social staff for guidance if needed. II. SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Low Environmental Risk Rating Low The activities supported by this project are not expected to have any negative environmental impacts. No rehabilitation or construction of infrastructure or other actions having an impact on the environment will be financed through the project. The project will be implemented in four regions (Tumbes, Piura, Trujillo, and Lima) that still have a significant number of COVID-19 cases. Like any other activity during this pandemic, this project presents risks of exposure of project personnel to COVID-19. To mitigate this risk, the project proposes implementation alternatives that minimize exposure (i.e. mobile transfers and pre-paid cards); proposes the provision of necessary personal protective equipment and training on their use and disposal, and will implement proper prevention strategies in alignment with WHO and Ministry of Health guidelines. These mitigation measures are described and integrated into Labor Management Procedures under ESS 2. Social Risk Rating Low The main social risks of the project relate to potential tensions originating from a lack of clarity or misunderstanding regarding the eligibility criteria to receive the benefit. To mitigate these risks, the eligibility criteria include a Public Disclosure comprehensive list of variables to reach the most vulnerable among Venezuelan migrants and will work with different grassroots organizations to disseminate information about the program. In addition, the IOM has developed a robust Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) to address any feedback or complaints coming from Venezuelan migrants or organizations supporting Venezuelan migrants and refugees. In a complementary effort that is supported by a BETF, the Bank will be providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Peru to implement a communication campaign to address the high negative perceptions and xenophobia against Venezuelans in this region that were identified in the Bank’s socioeconomic assessment, "An Opportunity for All: Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees and Peru’s Development", which was published in November of 2019. The communication campaign will highlight the positive collective impact of these efforts, through reduced economic vulnerability and risks of contagion of COVID-19 and the contribution of Venezuelans to the COVID-19 mitigation and recovery process of the country. A Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) prepared for the project includes a stakeholder mapping and a communication strategy to guide the interactions with beneficiaries. It also includes the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM), to ensure that any concerns and grievances are properly managed during project execution. B. Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) that Apply to the Activities Being Considered B.1. General Assessment ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Overview of the relevance of the Standard for the Project: This standard is relevant, although the project’s components are not expected to have any negative environmental and social impacts. The project will neither finance nor support any civil works activities; therefore, a specific Environmental and Social Assessment is not needed. However, there are several existing social assessment reports Mar 24, 2021 Page 4 of 9 The World Bank SPF Peru: Emergency Response for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees (P174730) that provide information on the socioeconomic conditions of the Venezuelan migrants in Peru. In November of 2019, the Bank published an extensive socioeconomic report titled "An Opportunity for All: Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees and Peru’s Development". The cash transfers will be implemented in four regions (Tumbes, Piura, Trujillo, and Lima) with still a significant number of COVID-19 cases. As of mid-February 2021, Peru was the 15th country in the world most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (in terms of total number of deaths), and the fifth hardest hit in LAC. Likewise, the project aims at benefiting highly vulnerable Venezuelan populations that will be identified using multiple vulnerability variables such as gender, age, disabilities, GBV, households with COVID-19 cases, ethnicity, sexual orientation, human trafficking, single-parent headed households, people in the process of family reunification, people without support networks, and so forth. COVID-19 is hitting the poor and vulnerable in the entire country disproportionately and among them, the Venezuelan migrant and refugee population in Peru is significantly more impacted by the pandemic. Based on this assessment, access to health services and insurance is extremely low among Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Peru: only 9% percent of them have health insurance. When sick, only 33% sought care in a health facility or doctor’s office, due to financial constraints and lack of insurance. Finally, perceptions towards Venezuelans have worsened dramatically during the pandemic, as they are increasingly seen as a burden for the country, handicapping the response to the pandemic and the post-COVID-19 recovery. While it is estimated that 100% of Peruvian informal poor workers and as many as 81% of Peruvian informal non-poor workers will benefit from at least one of the Government emergency cash transfer programs, Venezuelans will not receive emergency transfers, leaving them with no means to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. This would increase the overall vulnerability of the country to surmount the crisis, as migrants and refugees will be less likely to enforce social distancing measures, increasing the chances of new outbreaks. Public Disclosure In this way, the project aims to provide support for Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Peru, improve the country’s response to COVID-19 and reduce exclusion and xenophobia. In particular, the grant will provide urgent assistance through emergency cash transfers to vulnerable Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Peru who have been negatively affected by the social distancing measures taken to contain and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and have not benefited so far from any relief effort from the Peruvian government. The project will rely on the use of cash transfers using mobile transfers and pre-paid cards. These mechanisms will be used to reduce the risk of more COVID-19 infections in the selected geographic areas. Besides, the project will provide the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and training on their use and disposal and will implement proper prevention strategies in alignment with WHO and Ministry of Health guidelines. The project is expected to reach 13,535 vulnerable families, covering approximately 54,140 Venezuelans with a one- time emergency transfer of PEN 760 (USD 235 approximately). IOM continually updates its database database of beneficiaries’ migrants and refuges that dates back to 2017 and includes a series of socio-economic variables. This database holds information for approximately 30,000 people from Venezuela. The selection of the final target beneficiaries will be based on a prior socio-economic assessment that uses vulnerability criteria such as gender, age, disabilities, GBV, households with COVID-19 cases, ethnicity, sexual orientation, human trafficking, single-parent headed households, people in the process of family reunification, and people without support networks. The selection of a limited number of Venezuelan beneficiaries represents a risk related to loss of social and political support to provide help to migrants from Peruvian society and the potential tensions originating from a lack of clarity or misunderstanding regarding the eligibility criteria to receive the benefit. To mitigate these risks, the team proposes to prepare communication campaigns using different and accessible media that highlight the positive collective impact of these efforts, through reduced economic vulnerability and risks of contagion and the contribution of Mar 24, 2021 Page 5 of 9 The World Bank SPF Peru: Emergency Response for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees (P174730) Venezuelans to the COVID-19 mitigation and recovery process of the country. A Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) and a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) will be developed under ESS 10, including a stakeholder mapping and a communication strategy to guide the interactions with beneficiaries and ensure that any concerns and grievances are properly managed during the project execution. ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure This standard is relevant. To design this project and implement the cash transfers, IOM Peru has been consulting and working closely with relevant Peruvian government counterparts such as the National Superintendence of Migration, the National Ombudsman Office, the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Population (MIMP), regional and local governments and other UN agencies such as UNHCR. Besides, IOM possesses information regarding refugees and migrants in vulnerable conditions from the National Superintendence of Migration and its humanitarian partners. The National Ombudsman Office and IOM have worked together to raise awareness regarding the smuggling of migrants. Through this project, the cooperation with this institution will be strengthened to keep improving identification systems and the assistance to vulnerable people. From March through May 2020, IOM also carried out a consultation process with humanitarian actors that are currently working in the field, which has generated valuable information about how social assistance programs can be retooled to help vulnerable Venezuelans. Likewise, IOM will sign agreements with private companies by applying IOM Procurement standard procedures to deliver prepaid cards to the beneficiaries. Also, IOM will sign agreements with selected financial networks, mainly those with a greater presence throughout the national territory, to provide mobile transfers. In Peru, several companies and banks that have experience with the cash transfer modality are available in the target locations. Public Disclosure IOM has prepared a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), proportionate to the risk of the project, that will be publicly disclosed. The SEP includes a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) for the processing of any complaints resulting from project activities. Grievances can be submitted orally (by phone, or directly with IOM local staff in the field) and/or by writing to a dedicated IOM-Peru email account ( iomperuatencion@iom.int ). The Venezuelan migrant community will be informed about the existence of this mechanism. All technical information and ESF compliance requirements will be disclosed in an ongoing manner and in a way that is satisfactory to the Bank. B.2. Specific Risks and Impacts A brief description of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts relevant to the Project. ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions This standard is relevant. The implementation of cash transfers carried out by IOM will include two categories of workers, namely project workers directly associated with IOM and contracted workers who are on staff with, or will be hired by, private service providers. Given the nature of the work, no children under 18 will be employed in any of the activities supported by the Project. IOM will develop a health security protocol due to COVID-19 and equip its staff with protection equipment and training to respect the preventive measures recommended by WHO, like social distance and avoiding agglomeration. IOM already has a Code of Conduct (known as “Standards of Conduct”) for its staff and a GRM for its staff and for workers associated with the private service providers. To ensure the safety and security of beneficiaries, IOM will guide service providers on the importance of purchasing PPE for its workers to use and will ensure that this and related measures are included in its contracts with the providers. IOM will also put in Mar 24, 2021 Page 6 of 9 The World Bank SPF Peru: Emergency Response for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees (P174730) place health and safety measures at the selected locations, to ensure that beneficiaries can safely and securely access and use their pre-paid cards. These measures, as well as the use of mobile money transfers, are a key part of IOM's focus on preventing COVID-19 exposure and transmission. IOM, as the main implementing partner, has an internal responsive grievance mechanism to allow workers to quickly inform management of any labor issues, such as a lack of PPE. This system will be available to any category of workers related to the project. IOM has prepared Labor Management Procedures (LMP), proportionate to the risks of the project, and these will be publicly disclosed. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management This standard is not relevant. ESS4 Community Health and Safety This standard is relevant. The Project will implement cash transfers to vulnerable Venezuelan populations. For this reason, mitigation measures will be in place to prevent or minimize the spread of COVID-19. Using a mitigation hierarchy, the project will prioritize the use of technologies such as mobile transfers and pre-paid cards that were selected to reduce the risk of infection. IOM will develop a health security protocol due to COVID-19 and equip their staff with protection equipment and training to respect the preventive measures recommended by WHO, like social distance and avoiding agglomeration. This Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) protocol is included in the Labor Management Procedures (LMP), and will be included in contracts with all private service providers. To ensure the Public Disclosure safety and security of beneficiaries, IOM will guide service providers on the importance of purchasing PPE for its workers to use and will ensure that this and related measures, such as having additional face masks and alcohol gel at all distribution points, are included in its contracts with the providers. ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement This standard is not relevant. ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources This standard is not relevant. ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities This standard is relevant. The project aims at benefiting highly vulnerable Venezuelan populations that will be identified using multiple vulnerability variables such as ethnicity, gender, age, disabilities, GBV, households with COVID-19 cases, sexual orientation, human trafficking, single-parent headed households, people in the process of family reunification, people without support networks, and so forth. Ethnicity variables using criteria aligned with requirements under this Standard will be a part of socioeconomic interviews and referral processes to benefit indigenous peoples from Venezuela that are known to have migrated to different neighboring countries, including Peru. IOM will make an effort to reach out to as many Venezuelan indigenous beneficiaries as possible, using the SEP Mar 24, 2021 Page 7 of 9 The World Bank SPF Peru: Emergency Response for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees (P174730) as their main instrument to engage with them in an accessible, culturally appropriate, and inclusive manner. If this effort results in the identification of Venezuelan IPs whose particular circumstances would require a differentiated approach to the delivery of project benefits to them, the relevant project documents (starting with the SEP) will be updated to specify this approach. ESS8 Cultural Heritage This standard is not relevant. ESS9 Financial Intermediaries This standard is not relevant. C. Legal Operational Policies that Apply OP 7.50 Projects on International Waterways No OP 7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas No Public Disclosure B.3. Reliance on Borrower’s policy, legal and institutional framework, relevant to the Project risks and impacts Is this project being prepared for use of Borrower Framework? No Areas where “Use of Borrower Framework” is being considered: None. IV. CONTACT POINTS World Bank Contact: Paula Andrea Rossiasco Uscategui Title: Senior Social Development Specialist Telephone No: 5756+8205 / 57-1-3238205 Email: prossiasco@worldbank.org Contact: Marina Petrovic Title: Senior Social Protection Specialist Telephone No: +1-202-473-7626 Email: mpetrovic@worldbank.org Contact: Hugo Martin Brousset Chaman Title: Social Protection Specialist Mar 24, 2021 Page 8 of 9 The World Bank SPF Peru: Emergency Response for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees (P174730) Telephone No: 5220+2370 / 51-1-622-2370 Email: hbrousset@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower: International Organization for Migration Implementing Agency(ies) Implementing Agency: International Organization for Migration V. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects VI. APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Marina Petrovic, Hugo Martin Brousset Chaman, Paula Andrea Rossiasco Uscategui Practice Manager (ENR/Social) Valerie Hickey Cleared on 04-Mar-2021 at 08:12:31 GMT-05:00 Public Disclosure Mar 24, 2021 Page 9 of 9