On Monday, July 26, representatives of Foro Cívico launched a 5-day tour in Washington, D.C. for a public roundtable and a series of meetings with officials in the Biden administration, bipartisan members of the House and Senate, and other relevant actors to raise the profile of Venezuela’s humanitarian and political crisis, and ongoing efforts by civil society to achieve a solution.

The Foro Cívico, a nonpartisan coalition of civil society organizations, academic groups, labor unions, and social movements, was launched in February with the objective of encouraging cooperation around issues such as the humanitarian emergency, electoral conditions, and prospects for democratic change in the country. Since its inception, the Foro Cívico has been instrumental in pushing for electoral reform in Venezuela, presenting a list of 15 individuals from Venezuelan civil society to be considered for rectors of a new National Electoral Council (CNE) in March. When the makeup of a new CNE was announced in May, the impact of the Foro Cívico’s advocacy efforts was apparent, with three of the 15 members—Roberto Picón, León Airsmendi, and Griselda Colina—having been included in the list of candidates presented by the Foro Cívico.

The delegation of Foro Cívico representatives in Washington this week included Beatriz Borges (CEPAZ), Deborah Van Berkel (Sinergia), Enrique López Loyo (National Academy of Medicine), Mariela Ramírez (Movimiento Ciudadano Dale Letra), and Eugenio Martínez (electoral journalist). The tour aimed to discuss and advance civil society proposals to address the country’s humanitarian crisis, defend human rights, and push for free and fair conditions for upcoming elections slated for November 21. On Wednesday, July 28, WOLA hosted a public roundtable with the members of the delegation, which can be accessed here.

Human Rights

Politics

Migration

  • This week, Human Rights Watch published a statement calling on the government of Chile to cease collective deportations of Venezuelans and to ensure that deportations comply with international human rights standards. The statement highlights a lack of due process or judicial review in deportation proceedings for Venezuelan migrants in April and June.
  • This week, the U.S. embassy in Bogota announced that the Biden administration would donate 3.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to the Colombian government to support vaccination efforts for vulnerable populations in Colombia including Venezuelan migrants.
  • On July 29, the Migration Policy Institute published a report documenting the socioeconomic integration of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru since 2017. The report examines immigration policies and access to regular status in South American countries, changing trends in migration flows from Venezuela in recent years, and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on migrant and refugee populations in the region.

International Community

COVID-19