The Venezuelan Refugee Crisis: Implications for the International Community

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration, more than 4 million Venezuelans have fled their home country since 2015. Most of them—3.2 million—have gone to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. With an estimated 5,000 Venezuelans leaving the country each day, the number is projected to reach 5.4 million by the end of this year.

At the recent Organization of American States’ General Assembly in Medellín, Colombia, the OAS Working Group to Address the Regional Crisis Caused by Venezuela’s Migrant and Refugee Flows called on member countries to grant Venezuelans refugee status at the regional level and appealed to the international community to increase funding for the regional response. While praising regional efforts to grant temporary protection to Venezuelans seeking refuge abroad, the Working Group warned that an increase on migratory restrictions would aggravate, rather than solve the crisis.

Please join the Latin American Program on Thursday, July 11, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., for a timely discussion with leading experts on the Venezuelan refugee crisis and the international community’s response. 
 

Speakers
 

David Smolansky
OAS Coordinator 
Working Group to Address the Regional Crisis Caused by Venezuelan Migrant and Refugee Flows

Matthew Reynolds
Regional Representative for the United States and Caribbean
U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

Dany Bahar
David M. Rubenstein Fellow 
Brookings Institution

Christian Visnes
Country Director, Colombia
Norwegian Refugee Council

Moderator
 

Cynthia J. Arnson
Director, Latin American Program
Woodrow Wilson Center
 

Image Source:  Flickr