Nearly 75% of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, that is, some 4.3 million people, have difficulty buying food and finding housing and work in host countries, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Wednesday. .
A new evaluation The IOM and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) concluded that the humanitarian needs of this group are increasing and make the regularization and documentation initiatives implemented in the Latin American and Caribbean countries where they are found insufficient, for What is urgent is to improve protection and access to services and employment opportunities.
The organisms explained that the pronounced inflation, the impact of the pandemic of COVID-19 and high unemployment rates have exacerbated the vulnerabilities of Venezuelan refugees and migrants.
The analysis details that half of the refugee and migrant population in the region cannot afford three meals a day and does not have decent and safe housing, which has pushed many into begging, indebtedness or prostitution.
On the other hand, children and adolescents from these communities cannot register for school in the host countries, mainly due to lack of space or resources. In Colombia, for example, 29% of Venezuelans between the ages of six and 17 are not enrolled due to lack of money to pay for tuition or school supplies.
The UN agencies warned that hopelessness and desperation lead a significant number of people to risk their lives trying to migrate to other destinations through very dangerous routes.
IOM and UNHCR called on the international community not to forget the migrants and refugees from Venezuela and to support the countries that host them so that they can integrate and become self-sufficient.
The approach of the new Colombian government is an opportunity to promote the implementation of the Peace Agreement
A woman paints a mural for Peace and Reconciliation in Colombia.
The UN Security Council is meeting this afternoon to hear the quarterly report Secretary General’s most recent report on Colombia, in which he praises the peace approach of the new government, led by President Gustavo Petro since last August 7.
The report, presented by the UN representative in Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, highlights that this approach prioritizes dialogue to resolve conflicts, focuses security strategies on the protection of vulnerable communities and human rights; and links lasting solutions to violence with overcoming historical inequalities through profound transformations. This new vision is an opportunity to promote the comprehensive implementation of the Final Peace Agreement, he says.
The Secretary General trusts that the government will strengthen support for the more than 13,000 former combatants committed to peace, attending to their reincorporation and needs, as well as those of indigenous and Afro-Colombians.
Regarding the risk factors for the reintegration of former combatants, he underlines the persistent insecurity and refers that in the three months covered by the report, 15 ex-combatants were killed, which brings the count to a total of 342 killed since the signing of the Agreement. .
In this line, it points out that illegal armed groups continue to operate in areas with little State presence and adds that this violence disproportionately affects women, indigenous people and Afro-Colombians.
It specifies that during the reporting period, more than 8,000 people were confined and more than 13,000 were forcibly displaced, while 45 murders of human rights defenders were reported.
However, it recognizes that the new government has already taken the first steps to deal with the violence in several regions and welcomes the fact that the measures it has taken include the provisions of the Peace Agreement. He also trusts that the presence of the State will be progressively strengthened to protect vulnerable groups and dismantle armed groups and criminal organizations.
Finland violated the rights of Finnish children detained in Syria
Child in Al-Hol camp, northeast Syria.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child claimed that by failing to repatriate them, Finland violated the rights of six Finnish children held in poor conditions in Syrian camps.
The children in question were born in Syria as their parents were suspected ISIL collaborators. They are currently detained in the Al-Hol camp, located in the northeast of the country and under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
The Committee indicated that three of the minors were able to leave the Al-Hol camp with their mother and eventually arrived in Finland. In contrast, the other three, who are between five and six years old, remain detained in closed camps in a war zone.
According to the Committee, Finland violated the right to life and freedom from inhuman treatment of the six children and has a responsibility to protect them by taking immediate steps to repatriate the three still in Syria and to shelter them until they return.
The Committee previously found violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in three cases brought against France.
“It has been widely reported that the situation of children in the camps is inhumane, that they lack basic goods and services such as water, food and medical care, and that they face an imminent risk of death,” the Committee said.
