The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, announced yesterday that Spain will contribute another 50 million euros for a period of three years to support the main host countries of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Latin America.
The contribution was announced by González Laya during her speech at the International Donors Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants, held yesterday virtually and co-organized by Canada, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), co-leaders of the Regional Platform for Inter-Agency Coordination for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants (R4V).
“The host countries are giving a lesson in solidarity that deserves our full support,” said the minister. Therefore, the Spanish contribution “is our way of saying to the Venezuelan people and the host communities in Latin America that we will not leave them alone.” “They continue and will continue to count on Spain,” added González Laya, who thanked the Canadian government for assuming the leadership of the international donor community in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
The $50 million announced yesterday is in addition to the $50 million Spain pledged at the 2020 conference, also for a three-year period, to help host countries, especially Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. To date, 36.5 million euros have already been disbursed or programmed, 72% of the total committed.
The Canada Conference brought together donors, recipient countries, international organizations, international financial institutions, the private sector and civil society. It also incorporated the voices of populations affected by the crisis. The meeting had four main objectives: to reflect on the progress made to date by host countries and the international community; to raise awareness of challenges, priorities, gaps and opportunities; to mobilize additional financial and technical resources; and to identify future actions to maintain focus on the crisis and help ensure that commitments are met.
The previous conference, held in Madrid in May 2020 and co-organized by the European Union and the Government of Spain also with the collaboration of UNHCR and IOM, succeeded in reaching commitments of 2.512 billion euros, of which almost 577 million were donations. Spain was the fourth largest donor among the 30 participating countries and institutions. The funds earmarked to alleviate the situation of Venezuelan refugees and migrants cover both humanitarian assistance and development actions, including the strengthening of health systems and socioeconomic integration.
The Venezuelan refugee and migrant crisis continues to generate unprecedented needs in Latin America and the Caribbean. More than 5.6 million Venezuelans have fled their homes since 2015 and more than 4.6 million remain in the region, making it the second largest displacement crisis in the world, behind only Syria.
