UN says Venezuelan migrant crisis is at a “critical moment”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The International Donors’ Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants opened Thursday, June 17, with an appeal to the international community to assist displaced persons as well as host countries in the region, at “a critical moment” in this crisis.

This was defined by Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, who said that the pandemic is “causing devastation in Latin America and the Caribbean” that makes refugees and migrants from Venezuela “face growing protection problems.”

“One in four Venezuelan children are separated from one or both of their parents. One in three go to bed hungry. Nearly two-thirds have not attended school since the start of the pandemic. The risk for women is greater. Domestic violence, sexual harassment, and abuse are on the rise.”

The Canadian Minister of International Development, Karina Gould, the host of the conference, explained that the aim of this meeting, attended by representatives of some 60 countries and institutions, “is to get additional support to respond to a crisis that despite its magnitude, has gone largely unnoticed and underestimated”.

For his part, the director-general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), António Vitorino, requested that host countries include the 5.7 million displaced Venezuelans in their national vaccination plans against Covid-19.

The conference on Venezuelan refugees and migrants was held virtually. It concluded this Thursday and is expected to achieve similar donations to those reached last year when the European Union and Spain organized the meeting.

Then, the international community pledged US$2.79 billion in contributions, of which US$653 million were donations.

Last Friday, UNHCR said that commitments of US$1.44 billion are urgently needed to assist Venezuelan migrants and refugees, but so far, only 5% of that figure has been pledged this year.