Latin America seeks common ground to handle Venezuelan migrants
QUITO: Latin American ministers met Monday to end the massive Venezuelan migrant crisis that has jolted the region, as Venezuela’s government accused the United Nations ( UN) of exaggerating the situation to justify ‘international intervention’.
The delegates from 13 regional nations were seeking outside funding as they discussed in Quito a common solution to regularise the situation of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who have migrated due to a situation whose very existence Caracas denies.
Venezuelans who immigrate “are highly vulnerable to human trafficking, the smuggling of migrants, labor exploitation, lack of access to social security, extortion, violence, sexual abuse, recruitment for criminal activities, discrimination and xenophobia,” said Ecuadoran Deputy Foreign Minister Andres Teran.
The two- day meeting in Quito precedes extraordinary talks at the Organisation of American States (OAS) set to begin Wednesday to discuss the same issue.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the government had complained to UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres that ‘individual officials’ have been portraying ‘a normal migratory flow as a humanitarian crisis to justify an intervention’.
The UN says 1.6 million Venezuelans since 2015 have fled economic meltdown in the country, which has been hit by shortages of basic necessities such as food and medicine.
Venezuela is in a fourth year of recession while the International Monetary Fund has predicted infl ation in the South American country will reach one million per cent this year.
Thefloodofmigrantsabandoning their country to seek a better life elsewhere has left countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru creaking under the strain.
In addition to discussing a common regulatory framework, Latin American nations are seeking to show the impact that the massive arrival of migrants has on various countries’ fi nances.
Argentina’s envoy Dario Giustozzi stressed the need to ‘ unify’ document requirements for Venezuelans, who depending on the nation must present a certificate, passport or visa.
The delegates from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay are scheduled to issue a joint statement. The UN’s representative in Ecuador, Arnaud Peral, celebrated the regional effort and urged international donors to continue contributing. — AFP