Treat fleeing Venezuelans as refugees, UN urges
High commission says the majority of those leaving the country are in need of international protection
Geneva — Venezuelans fleeing political and economic crisis at home deserve protection as refugees, the UN said on Tuesday, urging other states not to deport them. About 3.7-million people have left Venezuela, including 3-million since 2015, as the economy has imploded, causing widespread shortages and hunger, and antigovernment street protests have brought waves of violence and deaths. Venezuelans continue to leave at the rate of 3,000-5,000 per day, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said, giving updated guidance on how to handle the exodus. “UNHCR … now considers that the majority of those fleeing the country are in need of international refugee protection,” agency spokesperson Liz Throssell told a news briefing. “It is incredibly important given the situation in Venezuela that there aren’t deportations, expulsions or forced returns.” UNHCR noted that there had been some deportations from Caribbean islands, including by Trinidad and Tobago in 2018. Only 460,000 Venezuelan...
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