Topic:
Country: Venezuela
Delegate Name: Jack Novak
Country: Venezuela
Committee: ECOSOC
Topic: Repatriation of Refugees
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is very passionate about repatriation efforts and wants to help refugees be able to return home safely and to a better place than they left. Currently, the biggest numbers of refugees come from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. South America as a whole also sees a substantial number of refugees, mainly from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. The commonality between these cases is one thing. These countries have all been found to violate the basic human rights of refugees. War, poverty, and food insecurity all are major contributors to the increasing numbers of refugees we see. Though many refugees find homes in new countries, many do wish and want to return but are simply unable due to the crises their home countries are facing. We already have policies in place for helping refugees escape, but working towards stabilizing their home countries should be this committee’s number one priority. As of October 2023, 6.2 million Ukrainian refugees have been reported to be scattered across Europe. As of October 28th, 6 million Palestinians have been displaced due to the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We as the UNHRC predict that in total, around 117.2 million people will be displaced globally. This is not ok and as a committee we must work together to change this for everyone’s benefit and the human rights of the people.
Venezuela has always accepted refugees and welcomed them with open arms. As a nation, we aren’t suitable hosts at the moment due to our own political crisis we’ve been experiencing since 2014. This conflict has resulted in many of our own citizens migrating out of the country. Around 7.7 million citizens have fled the country and are staying in mostly other neighboring countries. Crime is at an all time high and starvation is common. Hyperinflation is also a huge issue for Venezuela as well.
While we as a country would love for those wishing to return back to Venezuela to do so, our country is in no stable condition to do so. Until the opposition forces are eliminated, it is not safe and refugees who return would only be putting themselves at risk. This is why we’re advocating for the UN to aid and not solve conflicts within countries, but make sure humanitarian aid is being delivered and that countries experiencing crises can move to a more stable condition, allowing for repatriation to happen. This can be done through UN backed safe camps for those in need to seek safety and peace, food and water deliveries if there’s minimal or zero access to such things and most importantly, medical aid. Venezuela firmly encourages other nations to consider the refugees and the suffering people all across the world are experiencing and we hope you’ll work with us to put a stop to it. We will come to a resolution together.
Bibliography:
https://www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/venezuela/#:~:text=Venezuela%2C%20a%20country%20that%20has,facing%20its%20own%20displacement%20crisis.
https://immigrationforum.org/article/the-reasons-behind-the-increased-migration-from-venezuela-cuba-and-nicaragua/
https://www.unhcr.org/us/what-we-do/build-better-futures/long-term-solutions/voluntary-repatriation
https://www.rescue.org/article/facts-about-refugees-key-facts-faqs-and-statistics#:~:text=3.,%3A%20Syria%2C%20Afghanistan%20and%20Ukraine.
