A/HRC/59/49/Add.2 2. Relevant institutions responsible for migration governance 20. Under Act No. 15 of 14 April 2010, the Ministry of Public Security was created and granted responsibility for determining and implementing national security policies, including coordinating and supervising the public security services, and for safeguarding national sovereignty, public order and the safety of both citizens and foreigners under the jurisdiction of Panama. Within the Ministry, the National Migration Service is the main State authority in charge of managing the migration policy, while the National Border Service is the administrative body responsible for enforcing State border policies and ensuring State border security, control and regulation, including arrangements relating to border crossings. 21. Within the Ministry of Government, the National Office for Refugee Affairs is in charge of receiving, processing and admitting or denying asylum applications. If an application is found to be admissible, it is submitted to the National Commission for the Protection of Refugees for consideration and a final decision. The National Office for Refugee Affairs is responsible for coordinating and executing the decisions reached by the National Commission for the Protection of Refugees. 22. Under Act No. 74 of 15 October 2013, persons who have been recognized by the National Commission for the Protection of Refugees as refugees or asylum-seekers for a minimum of three years may apply for permanent residency. IV. Border management in the Darién region 23. In the Darién region, a 5,750 km2 expanse of tropical rainforest separates Colombia and Panama. Once considered impassable, in the past few years, over a million individuals have risked their lives and travelled through the Darién region in search of safety and a better life. 24. In relation to the mixed movement through the Darién region, Panama considers itself a country of transit and addresses the arrivals of migrant and refugee populations crossing the jungle through a security- and humanitarian-oriented approach. Based on bilateral agreements with Colombia and Costa Rica, Panama provides a controlled corridor allowing the passage of migrants and refugees from Colombia to Costa Rica while preventing their free movement in the country. Given the vastness of the jungle and the harsh geography, there is limited presence of the National Border Service between the border with Colombia and the first State-run migrant reception centre, in Lajas Blancas. 25. After days of walking, migrants and refugees reach local communities on the Panamanian side of the jungle, and they are transported, at their own cost, by members of the Indigenous communities to the migrant reception centre in Lajas Blancas. Migrants and refugees are de facto detained at the centre until they are transported by bus, at a cost of $60, to a State-run shelter in Costa Rica. At the border between Panama and Colombia, the Government has installed razor-wire fencing to redirect migrants and refugees to a single checkpoint, at Cañas Blancas. 26. In 2024, the Government signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States, which included provisions for the so-called repatriation of migrants, with a view to reducing the number of irregular migrants passing through the Darién region. In 2024, 1,558 migrants were deported or expelled from Panama to their country of origin under this memorandum. 27. On 18 March 2025, shortly after the visit of the Special Rapporteur, Panama announced the closure of the migrant reception centres on the Darién route. A. Situation in the Darién region 28. After being dropped at the border between Colombia and Panama by a guide – allegedly associated with the self-proclaimed Ejército Gaitanista de Colombia, also known as the Clan del Golfo (Gulf Clan), a criminal group that controls and operates the means of GE.2506871 5