The political and economic situation that Venezuela has experienced in recent years has produced an unprecedented exodus in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), about 5.6 million Venezuelans had left their country by June 2021. 85% of migrants arrived in Latin American countries, with Colombia leading the way as the country with the highest reception in the world.
(Also read: Uruguayan sources on Venezuelan plane: “It’s political, not technical”).
The number of migrants in the country is not entirely clear. The IOM estimates that in 2020 there were around 1.7 million Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. For its part, Migration Colombia reports more than 2 million in the Single Registry for Venezuelan Migrants (Rumv) –a mandatory step to obtain the Temporary Protection Permit–, although not all migrants know about this permit. The figure that could be closer to reality, according to some estimates by the consulting firm Oportunidad Estratégica, could be around 2,700,000 migrants, denoting the magnitude of the challenge.
In any case, the truth is that Venezuelan migrants live in a dramatic situation in Colombia. According to the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement (Codhes), the vast majority of migrants arrive with the hope of improving their living conditions, but are forced to face situations of risk and vulnerability that result in serious violations of human rights. human rights.
The following data compiled by Codhes accounts for the situation faced by Venezuelans in Colombia:
— In 2020, the homicide rate of Venezuelan migrants tripled that of Colombians (62.96 vs. 21.87 people per hundred thousand inhabitants).
— In the same year, 1,650 Venezuelan migrants were victims of forced displacement.
— Between 2015 and 2020, 2,319 Venezuelan migrants were victims of sexual violence and 62.6% of the victims were female minors.
(Also: Guaidó to Colombia: ‘Reestablishing relations is recognizing Maduro’).
The vast majority of migrants arrive with the hope of improving their living conditions, but are forced to face situations of risk and vulnerability.
Numerous studies have found that Venezuelan migrants face many barriers to integrating in Colombia. One of the main difficulties for the integration of the migrant population in the country is the insertion in the labor market. According to Dane, 58.9% of the Venezuelan population has had difficulties finding a job, and this figure reaches 63.3% in the population between 25 and 54 years old; that is, the most productive.
Among the difficulties expressed by migrants, the lack of documentation, discrimination, lack of information to speed up the search, lack of experience and low-paid offers stand out. Due to these difficulties, many migrants are excluded from the labor market or end up in the informal sector.
The Venezuela Migration Project Observatory calculates that the informality rate of Venezuelans is around 92%, and the Ideas for Peace Foundation (FIP) estimates that, in the case of independents, it reaches 98.8%.
Currently, there is no consensus on the regularization status of this population.
While the IFJ and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation (KAS) indicate that only 2 out of 10 Venezuelans are regularized, the Interagency Group on Mixed Migratory Flows (GIFMM) reports that 32% of the total population is regularized, and Migración Colombia maintains that 18.6% of Venezuelans are regular and 64% are in the process of becoming so. In any case, at least 50% are in the country irregularly.
In addition to preventing migrants from accessing the formal labor market, this situation makes it difficult for them to access the goods and services of the State and the financial system. According to the GIFMM, people without regular status have more problems finding housing and are often forced to ask for donations and resort to lenders ‘drop by drop’.
People without regular status have more problems finding housing and are often forced to ask for donations and resort to lenders ‘drop by drop’.
For its part, Dane points out that 66.6% of Venezuelan migrants living in Colombia are not affiliated with the health system. 42.8% of migrants report not knowing how to join, and 26% say they cannot access subsidized medicine.
Added to all of the above is xenophobia, aporophobia (rejection) and prejudice against the Venezuelan population, which bring social exclusion and fear.
immigration policy
Today, The Colombian Government is an international benchmark in terms of migration policy. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has described the regularization policy as “courageous and unprecedented”.
However, this policy still has limitations that must be corrected to promote a true integration of migrants. One aspect to consider is that, despite the existence of an “open door” policy that allows Venezuelans to enter Colombia without major complications, many have not been able to do so because they do not have a valid passport or do not even have one. which leads them to take illegal accesses.
When they finally manage to enter Colombian territory, the main challenge they face is regularization, to access the formal labor market and the services provided by the State.
To address this, in 2021 the Government announced the creation of the Temporary Protection Statute for Venezuelan Migrants, which seeks to permanently regularize Venezuelans. This statute allows migrants to stay in Colombia regularly for ten years, access social security, validate professional titles, enter and leave the country freely, and prove their immigration status to the country’s authorities.
In 2021, the Government announced the creation of the Temporary Protection Statute for Venezuelan Migrants, which seeks to permanently regularize Venezuelans.
The maximum period for migrants who entered the country irregularly to register and access this status expired in May of this year, leaving a balance of 2,380,000 migrants registered in the Rumv who will be able to access the temporary protection permit.
Despite this, it is quite probable that there is still a considerable proportion of Venezuelans in a high degree of vulnerability that due to ignorance, mistrust or technological incapacity were not able to apply in the established time window. For them, the end of the window of time to register can mean their irregular status in the country permanently.
To this situation must be added the difficulty that migrants have in obtaining the documentation that they require and the problems that Migration Colombia has had in operationalizing the implementation of the regularization process, with the collection of biometric data and the issuance of documents still pending. for 23% and 57% of those registered, respectively.
To do?
It is essential that the migration policy of the Government of Colombia does not end at the end of this mandate, but that it be transformed into a State policy that gives continuity to the established commitments, builds on good decisions and improves those points that need to be intervened. There are still important challenges that need to be addressed in order to achieve an effective integration of migrants. These are some recommendations that the Colombian Government could carry out:
— Extend the term for the registration of Venezuelan migrants in an irregular condition in the Rumv. The current term surely left a considerable part of the population in an irregular status permanently. It is convenient that the next government extend, at least for an additional year, the established term.
It is essential that the migration policy of the Government of Colombia does not end at the end of this mandate, but rather that it become a State policy.
— Accompany this extension with face-to-face registration sessions and technical support aimed at the most vulnerable population, with special emphasis on communities that are technologically illiterate or do not have internet access.
— Consider substitutes for the ‘Summary test’ in the documentation established to access Rumv. This proof is a document that certifies that the person was in the country before the stipulated date and is difficult to obtain for migrants with a high degree of mobility and vulnerability. Some alternatives may be: sworn testimonies, photographs, text messages, among others.
— Carry out a study to evaluate the operation of the Statute, in order to correct the operational deficiencies that may exist in the issuance of documents.
— Increase the dissemination of information about the Statute and evaluate new strategies to contact the population with the highest degree of vulnerability.
— Develop and disseminate institutional care routes for comprehensive care and reparation for Venezuelans who have been victims of xenophobia and who, consequently, have seen their rights violated.
— Design communication strategies with the business community to explain the step-by-step procedure for the formal hiring of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia.
— Evaluate strategies to speed up the procedures for homologation of studies and work experience in the Venezuelan population, so that migrants can access jobs that correspond to their skills and knowledge.
AUTHOR: Editorial team of Razón Pública For the alliance Razón Pública – Oportunidad Estratégica
This text is part of the alliance between Razón Pública and the consulting firm Oportunidad Estratégica and is based on the document entitledVenezuelan migration in Colombia: current status and main challenges
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