A Human-Centered Policy Response to the Venezuelan Crisis

This discussion will consider the role for multilateral organizations and civil society in response to the ongoing political and economic crisis in Venezuela, including its humanitarian and hemispheric implications. Argentina-based expert Andrei Serbin Pont, research director of CRIES (Regional Coordinator for Economic and Social Research), will provide remarks informed by the results of a regional convening of nongovernmental organizations—organized by the Stanley Center and CRIES—that occurred April 24–26, in Cúcuta, Colombia.

The goal of the conversation is to consider appropriate and responsible policy and advocacy responses that place Venezuelans themselves at the center of the policy discussion, taking into account the current context in Venezuela and the real potential for further violence. Topics of discussion will include:

• An update on the current humanitarian and political situation in Venezuela;
• A review of the effects of great power competition in regard to the crisis and the implications of the role the United States has played historically in the region;
• Suggestions for support and advocacy for the prevention and peacebuilding communities, as well as recommendations for multilaterals and civil society;
• General recommendations on containing the crisis and addressing the most prominent humanitarian concerns.