Over the last decade, organised criminal violence in Central America has resulted in some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Vulnerable communities in the Northern Triangle countries – Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras – have been forcibly displaced within countries, across the region and northwards into the United States and Mexico.

Violence is on a scale unprecedented for countries not at war. But there is a certain reluctance among states and aid providers to acknowledge the humanitarian dimensions of this crisis.

This violence is causing forced displacement of entire communities, interrupting education, preventing access to basic medical services, and compounding issues such as sexual violence as well as child recruitment. Clearly, such large-scale impacts and forced displacement requires a coordinated humanitarian response that provides better protection and assistance for communities.