A/HRC/59/49/Add.1 the significant number of arrivals of migrants and refugees, mostly from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 7. Currently hosting over three million migrants and refugees, the mixed migration reality in Colombia is also heavily affected by migration and asylum policies of other countries in the region. In addition, domestically, multiple forces lead people to move and to emigrate, creating an intersecting migration situation. Colombia is the site of the longest-running armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere. Consequently, as at 28 February 2025, Colombia has approximately 8.8 million internally displaced persons, 1 the highest number in the Americas. At the beginning of 2025, a humanitarian protection crisis emerged in the Catatumbo region as the result of a territorial dispute between two non-State armed actors, resulting in the displacement of 52,000 individuals, including approximately 5,000 migrants. 8. In response to the significant number of refugees and migrants arriving from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, since 2017, Colombia has taken important steps to regularize the legal status of Venezuelan refugees and migrants. In 2021, the Temporary Protection Statute for Venezuelan Migrants was introduced, granting temporary protection permits to refugees and migrants for 10 years of regular stay, including access to healthcare, education and employment. Based on the figures provided by the Government: out of the 3 million Venezuelans who currently reside in Colombia, 2.5 million have been regularized; 60 per cent of migrants with temporary permits are enrolled in the healthcare system; and more than 600,000 Venezuelan children and adolescents are enrolled in the Colombian educational system. 9. Despite the regularization and integration efforts of Colombia, persistent challenges, including the lack of an efficient asylum system, economic barriers, discrimination and generalized violence, remain of concern to many refugees and migrants who oftentimes take the decision to continue to move north. 10. Colombia and Panama share a 266 kilometre-long border, much of which is within the Darién region. The area, which is the sole land connection between South and Central America, is characterized by its extreme geography, consisting of a dense virtually impenetrable jungle, high mountains, fast-flowing rivers and vast swamps. Since 2021, the Darién region has become a key transit corridor for migrants and refugees, who use the route to travel northwards. The lack of infrastructure and hazardous conditions have made the jungle in Darién region one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world. 11. The extreme weather conditions in this shared border area, combined with the lack of access to drinking water, food and medical care, exacerbate the vulnerability of migrants and refugees and further endanger their lives and their physical and mental well-being. Of particular concern are reports of deaths and disappearances of migrants and refugees, sexual and gender-based violence, extortion, robbery and the risks of human trafficking and smuggling, which affect women, children and adolescents in particular. The presence of criminal and armed groups in the Darién region further aggravates some of these risks and exposes migrants and refugees to dangers associated with armed conflict, such as forced recruitment, including of children, drug trafficking, forced labour and sexual exploitation as a form of coercion and control. 12. Between 2022 and 2024, over one million migrants and refugees made irregular crossings through the Darién region – over 400,000 people in 2024 alone. The majority of that population originated from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, although a significant number of migrants and refugees from the Caribbean and from countries outside the continent were also recorded. 13. Since December 2024, and up until the time of drafting the present report, the number of people crossing from Colombia into Panama through the Darién region has substantially decreased, by 90 per cent compared to previous years. In January 2025, approximately 2,200 persons left Colombia heading towards Panama through the Darién region. Over 73 per cent 1 GE.25-06163 See https://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/protection-brief-colombia-20-anos-avanzando-en-laproteccion-y-soluciones-para-las-personas-desplazadas-internamente-en-colombia. 3