GINEBRA -
The first World Forum on Refugees ended on Sunday with a focus on the serious political, economic and humanitarian situation in Venezuela.
The representatives have warned that if the crisis continues in this country, the number of displaced people could increasingly exceed Syria, with more than six million refugees.
In addition to Venezuela, other countries such as El Salvador and Honduras are facing the largest migration flow in history.
The special representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for Venezuela, Eduardo Stein, warned that this was a "complex" and "challenging" situation.
In his opinion, the region must deal with "forced displacement and people seeking asylum or refuge because they are leaving an extremely precarious situation in their country of origin, extreme shortages in basic services and political persecution".
If things continue in this way, Stein said, the crisis could surpass what was experienced in Syria with a projected 6.5 million Venezolans who will have abandoned Venezuela by the end of 2020.
Stein assured that "emergency services such as food, shelter, medical services, education for children" are required to manage this serious migratory emergency.
However, "socio-economic integration in the places of destination and in the host communities" is crucial for UNHCR, as it will be the only way to successfully manage this humanitarian crisis.
Refusal in host countries
The UNHCR official lamented that "the host communities are beginning to show more and more disgust and distress" at the influx of Venezuelan migrants.
"They believe that there is more attention paid to Venezuelan migrants than to the needs of the local population, which in most cases is not the case," he argued.
Colombia, Peru and Ecuador are some of the countries that have been most receptive to the crisis in Venezuela and many migrants have settled there in search of a better life.
Stein warned that "public expressions of annoyance or disgust" over the presence of this migrant population in other countries in the region have been multiplying.
"There are multiple reactions that, unfortunately, some political forces in the opposition are trying to cultivate for their own agendas of decalifying the caretaker governments, but it is a very serious problem because of the political implications that this entails," he criticized.
More funds to face the crisis
The UNHCR special representative was grateful for the "support of the international community" and "of the host countries themselves".
For the year 2020, he said that there will be "more and more needs in more destination countries", so he assured that some 1,300 million dollars of funds will be needed to alleviate these migratory crises.
"Many organizations consider that it is too much money to be able to reallocate and we are not so optimistic in that sense," he said.
Following Brazil's announcement to grant refugee status to all Venezuelans arriving in the country, Stein pointed out that the "asylum system has involved a significant amount of advance planning and forecasting of labor demand in many areas of Brazil".
He was also pleased because "the majority of people who cross into Brazil not only obtain an identity document but also, almost immediately, a work permit".
In general, those present at this World Forum, which took place in Geneva from 16 to 18 December, have shown their determination and courage to face a complicated period, where it is estimated that there are some 25 million refugees worldwide.