The Pope commends Colombia for protecting 1,7 million Venezuelan migrants

After acknowledging that he always looks with gratitude to those who assist migrants, Pope Francis on Sunday praised the efforts made by the Colombian authorities to guarantee temporary protection for Venezuelan migrants who have fled the economic hardships of their homeland. "I join the Bishops of Colombia in expressing gratitude to the Colombian authorities for having implemented the statute of temporary protection for Venezuelan migrants present in that country, favoring reception, protection and integration", said Pope Francis after the his weekly Angelus prayer. He also stressed that it is an effort carried out “not by a super rich developed country”, but which has “many problems of development, poverty and peace… Almost 70 years of guerrilla warfare. But with this problem they had the courage to look at those migrants and to create this statute “. Announced last week by President Iván Duque Márquez, the initiative will grant a 10-year protection statute to 1,7 million Venezuelans now living in Colombia, granting them residence permits and the ability to apply for permanent residence.

Venezuelan migrants hope the measure will facilitate access to work and social services: currently there are over a million undocumented Venezuelans in war-torn Colombia, who have achieved peace only through a 2016 agreement that is now contested. by many due to the lack of guerrillas. of integration into society. The relatively surprising announcement was made by Duque on Monday and applies to undocumented Venezuelan migrants living in Colombia before January 31, 2021. It also means that hundreds of thousands of migrants who have legal status will not need to renew their their temporary permits or visas. The United Nations estimates that there are currently over 5,5 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees around the world who have fled the country ruled by the socialist Nicolas Maduro, successor of Hugo Chavez. With a crisis erupted since Chavez's death in 2013, the country has long been plagued by food shortages, hyperinflation and an unstable political situation. Due to the socio-economic crisis, it is virtually impossible to have a passport issued in Venezuela and obtaining an extension of one already issued can take up to a year, so many flee the country without documents.

In a February 8 speech, Duque, a conservative whose government is closely aligned with the United States, characterized the decision in both humanitarian and practical terms, urging those who tune in to his remarks to have compassion for migrants across the board. the world. "Migration crises are by definition humanitarian crises," he said, before pointing out that his government's move would make things easier for officials who need to identify those in need and also track down anyone who breaks the law. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called Duque's announcement "the most important humanitarian gesture" in the region in decades. Despite the fact that Colombia still faces a crisis of thousands of internally displaced people due to the decades-long civil war that has plagued the nation, the government has taken a radically different approach to incoming Venezuelans from other countries in the region such as Ecuador, Peru and Chile, which have created barriers to migration. In January, Peru sent military tanks to the border with Ecuador to prevent migrants - many of them Venezuelans - from entering the country, leaving hundreds of them stranded. Though often forgotten, the Venezuelan migrant crisis has been, since 2019, comparable to that of Syria, which has six million refugees after a decade of war.

During his post-Angelus remarks on Sunday, Francis said he joined the Colombian bishops to praise the government's decision, which applauded the move soon after it was announced. "Migrants, refugees, displaced persons and victims of trafficking have become emblems of exclusion because, in addition to enduring the difficulties due to their migratory status, they are often the object of negative judgments or social rejection", wrote the bishops in a statement. last week . Therefore "it is necessary to move towards attitudes and initiatives that promote the human dignity of all people regardless of their origin, in line with the historical capacity of welcoming our people". The bishops have predicted that the implementation of this protection mechanism by the government "will be a fraternal act that opens the doors to ensure that this population who comes to our territory can enjoy the fundamental rights of all people and can access opportunities of a dignified life. "In their declaration, the prelates also reiterated the commitment of the Colombian Church, its dioceses, religious congregations, apostolic groups and movements, with all its pastoral organizations to" give a global response to the needs of our brothers and sisters who seek protection in Colombia. "