Japan contributes to improve living conditions and inclusion of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Brazil and Peru
Japan contributes to improve living conditions and inclusion of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Brazil and Peru
PANAMA CITY – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomed today a contribution from the government of Japan to enhance protection, humanitarian assistance and socio-economic inclusion for some 47,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Brazil and Peru.
The funds, announced yesterday in Geneva, will improve the access to territory, documentation, and asylum procedures in both countries, and will strengthen protection services such as safe and adequate temporary shelters, access to income-generation opportunities and the provision of information on education and health services.
“Brazil, Peru and host communities continue to offer protection, humanitarian assistance and socio-economic integration opportunities to millions of refugees and migrants from Venezuela”, says Jose Samaniego, Director of UNHCR Regional Bureau for the Americas. “This contribution from Japan will improve the lives of thousands of Venezuelans in vulnerable conditions in Brazil and Peru.”
According to figures from the R4V coordination platform, there are 7.1 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants. Most of them (some 6 million) are hosted by countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Brazil and Peru.
In Brazil, UNHCR works to strengthen the national asylum system through the strategic provision of technical guidance to national authorities. The UN Refugee Agency is present in border areas to improve reception conditions and respond to the basic needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela. Additionally, UNHCR strengthens local protection networks and supports the government-led voluntary relocation programme, which transfers Venezuelans from Brazil’s less developed North to other areas inside the country, fostering their local and socio-economic integration.
In Peru, UNHCR works to improve access to fair and efficient asylum procedures and documentation for Venezuelan refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants, as well as promoting decent work opportunities to strengthen their economic self-sufficiency. Some 300,000 Venezuelans living in Peru have higher education degrees. This represents an opportunity for large-scale and long-term integration, which will boost the economic development of the country. In the framework of Japan’s support, UNHCR Peru will also assist children with access to education, distribute relief items, provide temporarily shelter and accommodation, and offer mental health and psychosocial support to refugees and migrants in the country.
About UNHCR
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee because of conflict and persecution. We deliver life-saving assistance like shelter, food and water, help safeguard fundamental human rights, and develop solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future.
UNHCR co-leads the Regional Inter-agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V) with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). With over 200 partners across Latin America and the Caribbean, the R4V Platform seeks to strengthen protection of the rights, improve access to services, and expand integration opportunities for refugees and migrants from Venezuela as well as their host communities.
For more information please contact:
In Panama,
- William Spindler, [email protected]
- Luiz Fernando Godinho, [email protected]