Page 7 - Preliminary Report on the Venezuelan Migrant and Refugee Crisis in the Region

Methodology

To prepare its first report, the Working Group to Address the Regional Crisis Caused by

Venezuela Migrant and Refugee Flows visited the Colombian border with Venezuela on three

occasions, specifically in the departments of Norte de Santander (Cúcuta and Villa del Rosario)
and La Guajira (Maicao and Rioacha). The first visit was made in the company of the Secretary

General of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro; the second, with 17 missions of

OAS member states; and the third, during the international effort to take humanitarian aid into

Venezuela. The Working Group also participated in the meeting in Quito. Complementing the
activities on the field, the report also draws on the results of a public consultation with civil

society organizations, the Working Group’s own investigations, and contributions made by the

Group’s members at its periodic meetings.

The aims of the report are to describe a large part of the determinants of the forced migration

of millions of Venezuelans, estimate the number of people that may be forced to leave against

their will if the situation continues to deteriorate, and set the dimensions of this migrant and

refugee crisis in a global context relative to other crises. In the next report, after conducting
other on-site visits, the Working Group will put forward recommendations for governments to

provide assistance and protection to Venezuelan migrants and refugees, as well as describing

their situation in receiving countries.

The Working Group to Address the Regional Crisis Caused by Venezuela Migrant and Refugee

Flows comprises David Smolansky (coordinator), Gastão Alves (co-coordinator) and four

independent experts: Dany Bahar, Cyntia Sampaio, James Hollifield, and Francisca Vigaud-

Walsh.

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