11 countries signed the “Declaration of Quito” on mobility of Venezuelan migrants

With 18 points of common agreement, the “Declaration of Quito on Human Mobility of Venezuelan citizens” was signed today, following the consensus of 11 countries that participated in the regional meeting, which was hosted by the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry. In addition to Ecuador, the document was signed by Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

“The Declaration constitutes a milestone because an informal group of countries that are working and have demonstrated their willingness to provide their cooperation, contribute with ideas with very concrete actions to solve the issue of the massive and unusual migration of Venezuelan citizens. in the region. The government of Ecuador is very pleased to have hosted this first meeting, “said Deputy Minister of Human Mobility, Santiago Chavez.

The document contains the main issues related to the concern expressed by the states and governments regarding this humanitarian problem. (See the Declaration)

Chávez also reported that the country has offered to host a second meeting, to be held in the second week of November, in order to follow up on the agreements and evaluate other actions that can be articulated. “This initiative of Chancellor Valencia (José) has been successful, thanks to the cooperation and understanding that exists in the governments of the countries of the region. We will continue working closely in order to coordinate in a better way the actions leading to give continuity to this issue and to fulfill the commitments contained in the Declaration of Quito. ”

Also, about the extraordinary meeting of the OAS, which will take place tomorrow in Washington, considers that although it is a more political meeting, he said that the inputs that have been generated in the Quito meeting will be important for this space and in other forums. This is the case of the South American Migration Conference, to be held on September 26 and 27 in Santiago, Chile.

For his part, the head of the mission of Peru, Enrique Bustamante, said that there is agreement among the delegations regarding the capacity of the states to deal with the massive Venezuelan migration in the region, in the face of public requirements. That is why he said that cooperating states and international organizations have been invoked to increase technical and financial assistance to directly assist Venezuelan nationals and strengthen the public services that states provide in the territories.

For his part, the representative of the government of Chile, Raúl Sanhueza, stressed the importance of the Declaration of Quito. “It establishes instances of coordination in protection of the groups that are affected. Venezuela is experiencing an institutional crisis that has caused us to live a migratory crisis and that causes the 2.5 million Venezuelans who are moving to live a humanitarian crisis. These are the concepts in which we have moved. ”

Based on the approved document, he affirmed that work will be done on identification mechanisms that benefit Venezuelan citizens, especially minors who circulate only with a birth certificate. “They have a right to identity.”

Likewise, he said that another point of the document is the recognition of certain “frontline” countries that are receiving the greatest impact of Venezuelan migration and that require the collaboration of the nations with the least impact. It would be the case of Colombia, Venezuela and Peru, for which the statement refers to that point. However, Vice Minister Chávez the issue goes further, the idea is to join forces and achieve international cooperation, especially the United Nations system, IOM and UNHCR, and other agencies with the World Bank, the Inter-American Bank (IDB); Andean Development Corporation (CAF).

In this sense, it also contemplates the reactivation of organisms such as the Andean Community (CAN) and Mercosur. “We are asking them to adopt a specific role in this migration issue, to assume their leadership in this matter,” said the vice minister of Ecuador.