The Venezuelan displacement crisis is one of the largest in the world. As of December 2022, it has been estimated that more than 7.1 million Venezuelans have fled their country.
The increasing cost of living, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of documentation and regular status, and high unemployment rates have increased the vulnerability of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, making it difficult for many to rebuild their lives and integrate into host communities.
The 2023 International Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants and their Host Countries and Communities aimed to maintain the visibility of this crisis, and to continue to support host countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region that are undertaking significant efforts to welcome and integrate Venezuelan refugees and migrants.
The event was co-organised by the European Union and Canada, in close collaboration with the UNHCR - the UN Refugee Agency, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V).
The Conference features the participation of a broad range of actors, including host governments, international organizations, UN agencies, donors, the private sector, and civil society, including refugees and migrants.
Date and objectives
The 2023 Conference took place on 16 and 17 March 2023 in Brussels, in a hybrid format.
The event focused on the importance of coordinated action across the humanitarian-development-stabilisation nexus. It aimed to achieve the following objectives:
1. Highlight important progress made to date: participants will share activities and results achieved to date in response to the crisis.
2. Show solidarity with host countries and communities, including through the mobilisation of additional resources: enable the expression of support for host countries and communities by a wide range of actors’ resources in their respective capacities and possibilities.
3. Raise awareness on key opportunities, priority areas, gaps, and challenge: these issues will be addressed throughout the event, including through thematic presentations, videos, and interventions.
4. Create an opportunity for greater engagement of the private sector and identify concrete future actions to maintain focus on the crisis and involve a wider range of stakeholders in the response.
Day 1 – Thematic segment
Thursday, March 16, 2023 14:00 – 17:30 CET
Berlaymont building, Brussels
12:45 - Arrival and registration – Welcome coffee
14:15 - Welcome and introduction: Katrina Sichel, Master of Ceremony
14:20 - Opening remarks
Michael Köhler, Deputy Director General, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, European Commission
Jason Tolland, Director General, South America and Inter-American Affairs, Global Affairs Canada
14:35 - Panel 1 - Perspectives from the region: challenges, efforts, and opportunities
Moderator: Andrea Koulaimah, DG ECHO Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.
Panellists:
Ignacio Higueras Hare, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peru
Pedro Hernández, Head of the Migration Division, Chile
Eduardo Stein, UNHCR-IOM Joint Special Representative for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela
Ana María Diez, President, Coalition for Venezuela
Julieta Valls Noyes, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State
Myriam Ferran, INTPA Deputy Director General
Q&A (questions and interventions from the floor)
15:45 – 16:10 Coffee break
16:10 - Panel 2 - The socio-economic integration of Venezuelan refugees and migrants: experiences and lessons learned
Moderator: Felipe Muñoz, Head of Migration Unit, Inter-American Development Bank
Panellists:
Silvia Espíndola, Vice Minister for Human Mobility, Ecuador
Álvaro Calderón, Director for International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombia
Marcela Escobari, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, USAID
María Paulina Romo, President, Grupo Entregas Ecuador (Fedex)
Virginia Mora, Venezuelan entrepreneur in Colombia
Paula Rossiasco, Senior Social Development Specialist, World Bank
Q&A (questions and interventions from the floor)
17:20 - Closing remarks
Ossian Smyth, Minister of State, Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, Ireland
Maciej Popowski, Director General, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), European Commission
Day 2 – High-Level Conference
Friday, March 17, 2023 14:00 – 19:30 CET
Berlaymont building, Brussels
12:00 - 14:00 - Arrival and registration
13:30 - 14:00 - Press conference (VIP corner)
14:00 - 14:05 - Welcome and introduction by Master of Ceremony, Katrina Sichel
14:05 - 14:20 - Opening remarks
Janez Lenarčič, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management
Hon. Harjit S. Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of International Development
Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
14:20 - 14:25 - Testimonial
14:25 - 15:25 - Interventions by affected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, international donors and international financial institutions (Ministerial level)
15:25 - 15:30 - Testimonial
15:30 - 15:50 Coffee Break
15:50 - 16:50 - Interventions by affected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, international donors and international financial institutions
16:50 - 17:20 - Interventions from the floor by other key stakeholders
Gianluca Rampolla, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Venezuela
Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Vincent Stehli, Director of Global Operations, Action Against Hunger (on behalf of LAC-RMD Coalition)
Jeanelié Briceño Condado, Executive Director, Chamber of Businessmen, Executives and Entrepreneurs of Venezuelans Abroad
17:20 - 17:25 -Testimonial
17:25 - 17:40 - Closing remarks
António Vitorino, Director General of IOM
Janez Lenarčič, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management
Hon. Harjit S. Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of International Development
17:40 - 17:45 - Wrap-up
Events
- 9 March: Civil Society Organisations Event for the International Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants, and their Host Countries and Communities
The EU, the Government of Canada and civil society organisations held a high-level dialogue which will take place in virtual format on 9 March. Learn more.
- 15 March: Sector Roundtable Sessions by the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela
Webstreaming
- 15 to 27 March: “Exodus” – Berlaymont building (outside premises)
Photo exhibit by Nicolò Filippo Rosso documenting the lives of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Latin America
- 16 March: Public Screening of Documentary “The Journey that never Ends: Leaving Everything Behind to Start Again” (45’)
Press releases
- Venezuelan crisis: Commission releases €75 million in humanitarian funding during the 2023 International Solidarity Conference
- EU and Canada to co-host the next International Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants
- Canada and EU to co-host the next International Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants - Canada.ca