Regional Responses to the Crisis in Venezuela: Strengthening capacities of civil society and multilateral initiatives

The crisis in Venezuela has resulted in serious repercussions beyond its own borders, and while the international community seeks to take steps to deal with the escalation of violence, the violation of human rights, and the acute shortage of food and essential goods, little attention has been granted to actions to protect the Venezuelans who flee from their own country. An estimated two to three million Venezuelans have left Venezuela in the past 19 years, with a marked increase in numbers over the past four years. In addition, the millions of Colombians living in Venezuela for decades who have decided to return to Colombia have not been counted. Thus, it becomes a priority to design and implement policies at the regional and national levels in countries that receive these migratory waves with the aim of ensuring the wellbeing of these populations and protecting their human rights as an essential part of strengthening resilience in the region.

This third workshop on regional responses to the crisis in Venezuela seeks to expand on the participation of experts from the first two workshops, and will focus on the characteristics that the migration crisis has acquired, the mobility trends of displaced populations in the Caribbean, and the role of civil society and other regional or multilateral organizations in addressing or containing the crisis and safeguarding refugees.