On the occasion of the International Conference of Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants and their host countries and communities, which took place on March 16 and 17, the signatories wished to convey the need to take a broader look at the response to the Venezuelan migrant and refugee population in host countries. In this sense, we called on the participants of the Conference to consider a response that includes the following principles:
1. The response to the Venezuelan human mobility crisis must include a rights-based approach, with human rights at the center. Humanitarian action and assistance must incorporate a human rights-based approach. Humanitarian assistance must be more than a funding response to the effects of the mobility crisis and the significant impact on host countries. It must take into account the context that gave rise to the crisis and the importance of guaranteeing the dignity and human rights of the people affected, with the ultimate goal of building a sustainable and lasting response that guarantees the exercise of rights.
According to the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela, the number of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in the world reached 7,177,885 people in February. This massive migration, unmatched in the recent history of our hemisphere, responds to the impact of the Complex Humanitarian Emergency in Venezuela, which directly affects the free exercise of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the population.
Based on the fact that the origin of the Venezuelan mobility crisis is the Complex Humanitarian Emergency, it would be unwise to concentrate the actions to address it solely on humanitarian assistance to migrants and refugees in disconnection from the reality of their country of origin. The persistence of the mobility crisis shows that a purely humanitarian approach or the measures taken by the States have not been enough. This situation invites us once again to reflect on the need to incorporate into the course of action other essential aspects, which allow an urgent, coordinated and comprehensive response to the crisis.
It is also worth highlighting that the Venezuelan refugee and migrant crisis is one of the most seriously underfunded by the international community and that the policies implemented by host States to address it have been clouded by inadequate practices that violate the human rights of migrants and refugees. Only a response that considers both causes and effects, with adequate funding and incorporating a rights-based perspective, will effectively and lastingly contribute to transforming the reality of people affected by the Complex Humanitarian Emergency, including people on the move.
2. Inadequate practices need to be eradicated and replaced by solidarity practices framed by refugee law. In the wake of measures of expulsion and illegal return of migrants and refugees under policies such as Title 42, 94 civil society organizations from the Americas recently called on the governments of the United States, Mexico and Canada to promote a humane handling of migration, guaranteeing the right of asylum and the principle of non-refoulement and creating safer and more humane complementary migratory pathways. We reiterate the call and the need for good practices and concrete expressions of solidarity, assistance, protection and promotion of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants and refugees.
3. The rights to identity and participation of Venezuelans in mobility must be guaranteed. As the Venezuelan migration phenomenon evolves, new challenges arise in terms of guaranteeing their right to identity, specifically regarding their right to access identification documents. In the case of people on the move, it is particularly important to guarantee their right to identity due to the condition of structural vulnerability faced by migrants and refugees in transit and host countries as identity documents are essential to mitigate risks and gain access to rights in contexts where their security, integrity and free development depend closely on the guarantee of this right.
Likewise, the possibility of having access to mechanisms for the regularization of a migration status is closely related to the possession of identity documents. This is also linked to the possibility of having access to many other rights such as formal employment, healthcare, and education. Given the electoral regulations in Venezuela, it is also a condition for exercising the right to vote from abroad. It is essential that the international democratic community can coordinate efforts to promote, encourage and protect the right to identity and political participation of the Venezuelan migrant and refugee population.
We have verified that there is a commitment to the democratic path among Venezuelan migrants and refugees. However, the Venezuelan State does not guarantee the rights of its citizens abroad. Only 107,927 Venezuelans abroad are enrolled in the electoral registry and therefore enabled to exercise their right to vote in their host countries, at times when the State keeps the electoral registry closed for new registration or changes to the electoral data of Venezuelan citizens abroad. The lack of clear communication channels with the consulates further complicates access to information and administrative procedures, which are also very expensive. All this context makes it impossible for the Venezuelan migrant and refugee population to fully exercise their rights.
In this sense, we insist on the need for the Venezuelan State and host countries to establish and facilitate mechanisms that allow Venezuelan citizens abroad to have access to identity documents, legal channels for the regularization of their migration status, and the exercise of their right to political participation in a safe, transparent and effective manner.
4. Organizations of Venezuelans abroad must be taken into account in the elaboration of any response to the mobility crisis. Finally, it is essential to highlight that the migrant and refugee population is organized and active to respond to the needs of its vulnerable fellow countrymen in many cities around the world. The efforts of thousands of Venezuelan organizations have been made invisible in the most influential spaces where large-scale responses to this crisis are taking shape. We call for the incorporation and recognition of these voices of abundant leadership and experience in the response plans that seek to offer solutions under a human rights perspective that holds the population served at the core.
Signatories:
Asociación Civil Openmujer
Asociación Civil por la Vida (ASOVIDA)
Asociación Civil Saber es Poder-AsoSaber
Asociación Civil Venezolanos en España
Asociación de venezolanos en Sincelejo
Asociación Venezolana de Mujeres
Asovenquin
Bandera Roja
Caleidoscopio Humano
Coalición por Venezuela
CAMPO
Casa venezolana Bélgica
Cátedra de la Paz/ Universidad de Los Andes
CECAVID
Centro de Acción y Defensa por los Derechos Humanos (Cadef)
Centro de Atención Integral Psicopedagógica Individual
Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Metropolitana
CIIDER
Civilis Derechos Humanos
Comisión Nacional de DDHH de la Federación de Colegios de Abogados de Venezuela del estado Táchira
Comisión ULA Mujer
Comité de Derechos Humanos de La Guajira
Control Ciudadano para la Seguridad, la Defensa y la Fuerza Armada Nacional
EPIKEIA Derechos Humanos
Fundación Aguaclara
Fundación Alianzas Solidarias
Fundación de lucha contra el cáncer de mama, FUNCAMAMA
Fundación Haciendo Panas
Fundación Manitas Amarillas
Fundación Nakama’s
Fundación para la Prevención de la Violencia Contra las Mujeres
Fundación Venezolanos en el Exterior
FundaRedes
Fundashon Venex Curacao
Globalizateradio
Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas de la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello
Instituto Interamericano de Inteligencia Emocional
Laboratorio de Paz
Liga Merideña contra el SIDA
Médicos Unidos Venezuela
Movimiento Ciudadano Venezolanos En El Mundo
Movimiento ciudadano venezolanos en el Mundo (MCVM)
Movimiento Creando Ciudadanos (MOCRECI)
Observatorio de Derechos Humanos Universidad de Los Andes
Observatorio Global de Comunicación y Democracia OGCD
Observatorio Venezolano de DDHH de las Mujeres
Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones
Odevida, Capítulo Venezuela
Ong Hombres por la equidad e igualdad
Organización de colaboradores para la asistencia social del migrante venezolano (OCASIVEN)
PACUHR
Prepara Familia
PROMEDEHUM
Red Comunitaria de Derechos y Ciudadanía
Red Juvenil Cultura de Paz y VIH
Red Nuevos Activistas por la Paz (RENUPAZ)
Redac Internacional
Redac
UIDH
Un Mundo Sin Mordaza
Unidos Sin Fronteras
Unión Afirmativa
VENAMERICA
Venezolanos del Área de la Bahía de San Francisco
Venezolanos en Barranquilla
Voto Joven
Women Riots
Women’s Link Worldwide
Individuals:
Alberto Isaac Pérez Levy
Alberto Sotillo
Alejandro Alvarez
Alinis Aranguren
Ana Madero
Andrés Hoyos
Bella Cira Zuñiga
BLANCA MEDINA
Carlos Guerra García
Carmen González Coronel
Carmen Ramos
Christi Rangel Guerrero
Cristina Ciordia
Deborah Van Berkel
Deisis Andrade
Deixon Alberto Romero
Dich Souki Carrión
Diego Ponce de León
Elvia Elena Villafranca
Fernando Aranguren
Fernando Jiménez
Francisco José Ortiz Finol
Fray David Peralta
Gabriela Buada Blondell
Gina Caldera
Hisvet Fernández
Iraida Salazar
Isabel Araujo
Jhonny Castro
José Antonio Oropeza
José Roberto García Prieto Lemus
Juan Carlos Lugo Ramírez
Juan Pio Hernández
Lady Junek Vargas león
Liliana Ponce
Luis Augusto Colmenares
Luisa Rodríguez
María Gabriela Cuevas García
María Sarmiento
Maryuris Aguilar
Mayra Madriz
Norbelis vasquez
Ofelia Álvarez
Otibel Valero
Pedro Hernández
Pilin León
Rafael Valdes Daussa
Raíza Ortiz
Raiza Ramírez Pino
Rhainer José Lunar Rodríguez
Ricardo Pinza
Rigoberto Lobo Puentes
Roxana Vivas
Sara Yolanda Romero Jara
Tamara Adrián
Tibisay Elena Betancourt Parra
Victoria Capriles
Vilma Pérez
Peace for Venezuela
Peace for Venezuela is a campaign that aims to break down the information bias surrounding the Venezuelan crisis within the international community and promote a stronger and more constructive role for the United Nations.