European Parliament 2014-2019
Plenary sitting
B8-0320/2018
2.7.2018
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
to wind up the debate on the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure
on the migration crisis and humanitarian situation in Venezuela and at its borders (2018/2770(RSP))
Ignazio Corrao, Fabio Massimo Castaldo on behalf of the EFDD Group
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EN United in diversity EN
B8-0320/2018
European Parliament resolution on the migration crisis and humanitarian situation in Venezuela and at its borders (2018/2770(RSP))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
– having regard to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and to the statement of 8 February 2018 by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Ms Fatou Bensouda,
– having regard to the statement of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Venezuela of 31 March 2017,
– having regard to the report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) entitled ‘Human Rights violations in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’ of 22 June 2018,
– having regard to the declaration of 20 April 2018 by the Organisation of American States (OAS) on the worsening humanitarian situation in Venezuela,
– having regard to the report published by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on 12 February 2018 entitled ‘Democratic Institutions, the Rule of Law and Human Rights in Venezuela’, and to the IACHR resolution of 14 March 2018,
– having regard to the declarations of 26 January 2018, 19 April 2018 and 22 May 2018 by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) on the latest developments in Venezuela,
– having regard to the Council conclusions of 13 November 2017, 22 January 2018, 28 May 2018 and 25 June 2018,
– having regard to the official mission of European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides to Colombia in March 2018,
– having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas more than 2 million people have left Venezuela in recent years;
B. whereas according to the UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the total number of Venezuelans who have left the country has been increasing dramatically, from 437 000 in 2005 to over 1.6 million in 2017; whereas, moreover, the trend shows that the number of people fleeing the country is expected to rise
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dramatically in the coming weeks and months;
C. whereas this exodus has been due to an unprecedented political, social, economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, where the government is unable to grant its people the enjoyment of basic human rights, such as to food, access to medicine, health or a decent job; whereas the human rights situation in Venezuela continues to deteriorate;
D. whereas, as a consequence, a growing number of people in Venezuela, including children, are suffering from malnutrition as a result of limited access to quality health services, medicine and food;
E. whereas, regrettably, the Venezuelan Government remains obstinate in its denial of the problem, avoids and prohibits any reference to a ‘humanitarian crisis’, and refuses to receive any kind of international humanitarian aid, despite the readiness of the international community to help;
F. whereas an OHCHR report published on 22 June 2018 highlights the Venezuelan authorities’ failure to hold to account the perpetrators of serious human rights violations, which include killings, the use of excessive force against demonstrators, arbitrary detentions, ill-treatment and torture; whereas impunity in favour of security officers suspected of the extrajudicial killings of demonstrators also appears to be rife; whereas these findings events are evidence of a further escalation of the tense situation in the country;
G. whereas the current crisis in Venezuela, in all its myriad aspects, is generating one of the largest population displacements ever witnessed in the region;
H. whereas according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Colombia is hosting the biggest share of displaced people, with over 820 000 Venezuelans living on its territory;
I. whereas Colombian national and local authorities are working commendably to grant the enjoyment of basic human rights, such as to primary education and basic health services, to those fleeing Venezuela, regardless of their status; whereas the same authorities are also striving to bring to light the work of irregular migrants and working for their integration into the Colombian working community, while granting special permits to those living in border regions and willing to live as commuter workers between Venezuela and Colombia;
J. whereas in Colombia, local communities, religious institutions and ordinary people alike are welcoming Venezuelan migrants in the spirit of fraternity, and are demonstrating great resilience and solidarity; whereas, nonetheless, these communities are being subjected to enormous pressures and growing challenges owing to the enormous number of people in need fleeing to their country;
K. whereas Cucuta, which is situated on the border with Venezuela, is experiencing a major influx of people, who are often in terrible health and nutrition conditions; whereas this humanitarian crisis is also affecting, to differing extents, all other regions of Colombia, including its capital;
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L. whereas Colombia, while progressing towards a more stable and peaceful situation, is still facing problems of its own, due to the presence of armed groups, illicit trafficking, illicit mining and smuggling, inter alia; whereas these challenges are mostly affecting border regions; whereas the humanitarian crisis afflicting Venezuelan migrants risks exacerbating and increasing these problems, and fuelling the deterioration of human rights in these regions;
M. whereas Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Panama are also facing influxes of great numbers of refugees; whereas host countries are coming under increasing strain in terms of providing assistance to new arrivals;
N. whereas on 17 March 2018 the EU allocated a humanitarian aid package of EUR 31 million to Latin America and the Caribbean, with EUR 6 million going to Colombia and a further EUR 2 million to those people affected by the crisis in Venezuela; whereas on 7 June 2018 the Commission announced a package of EUR 35.1 million in emergency aid and development assistance to support the Venezuelan people and the neighbourhood countries affected by the crisis; whereas in 2018, EUR 5 million was allocated via the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) to conflict prevention activities on the borders of Brazil and Colombia;
1. Is deeply shocked and alarmed by the devastating humanitarian situation in Venezuela, which has resulted in deaths and an unprecedented influx of people to neighbouring countries and beyond; expresses its solidarity with all Venezuelans forced to flee their country for want of very basic living conditions, such as access to food, basic health services and medicine;
2. Commends the Colombian Government, local authorities, civil society, religious authorities and all Colombian people for their prompt reaction and solidarity, and for the resilient help and support they have provided to all incoming Venezuelans; praises the work of other neighbouring countries’ governments and of regional and international organisations;
3. Welcomes the EU’s EUR 31 million humanitarian aid package for Latin America and the Caribbean, including its EUR 6 million for Colombia and further EUR 2 million for those affected by the crisis in Venezuela, as well as the EUR 5 million allocated in 2018 through the IcSP for conflict prevention activities on the borders of Brazil and Colombia; welcomes, moreover, the Commission’s announcement of a EUR 35.1 million emergency aid and development assistance package to support the Venezuelan people and the neighbourhood countries affected by the crisis;
4. Calls on the neighbouring countries’ national and local authorities to constantly oversee the situation in order to forestall any tension between local populations and Venezuelans fleeing to their territories; calls, in particular, for the situation to be actively monitored in order to prevent the escalation of xenophobia;
5. Is extremely worried about the considerable number of unaccompanied children crossing the borders, but commends the efforts undertaken by the Colombian authorities, international organisations and religious communities to grant them food and healthcare and to integrate them into the education system; calls on the national and local authorities to intensify their efforts in this field;
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6. Is alarmed at the escalation of slave labour and forced prostitution in some border regions, and calls on the Colombian authorities to implement seamless measures to put an end to these practices and to grant Venezuelan migrants decent jobs and complete integration into the labour market;
7. Calls on the neighbouring countries’ national and local authorities to put in place special measures in respect of the specific situation of binational indigenous people living at the borders;
8. Denounces the exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, the re-emergence of diseases such as measles, malaria and diphtheria, the lack of basic human rights for the Venezuelan people, such as the right to food, education and access to medicine and basic health services, and the lack of decent work;
9. Urges the Venezuelan authorities to acknowledge the ongoing humanitarian crisis, to prevent its further deterioration, and to promote political and economic solutions to ensure the safety of all civilians and stability for the country and the region;
10. Strongly calls on the Venezuelan authorities to take immediate action to uphold the human rights of the Venezuelan people, in particular the right to food, health and dignified living conditions;
11. Duly urges the Venezuelan authorities to allow, as a matter of urgency, unimpeded humanitarian aid into the country and to grant access to international organisations wishing to assist all the affected sectors of society, in order to prevent the aggravation of the humanitarian and public health crisis; calls for the rapid delivery of a short-term response to counter malnutrition among the most vulnerable groups, such as children;
12. Recalls that any sanctions adopted by the international community should be targeted, reversible and do no harm whatsoever to the Venezuelan population;
13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Government and National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Government and Congress of the Republic of Colombia, the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States.
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