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.