A resolution supporting efforts to strengthen protection, assistance, and solutions for Venezuelan women and children.

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 790 Supporting efforts to strengthen protection, assistance, and solutions for Venezuelan women and children. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 3, 2020 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. DURBIN) submitted the fol- lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Rela- tions RESOLUTION Supporting efforts to strengthen protection, assistance, and solutions for Venezuelan women and children. Whereas over 5,400,000 Venezuelans have been displaced across Latin America and the Caribbean—the world’s second largest displacement crisis—and at least 7,000,000 people inside Venezuela are in need of humani- tarian assistance as a result of the country’s ongoing po- litical and economic crisis; Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic is exacerbating the hu- manitarian crisis in Venezuela, given the country’s weak health infrastructure, and posing particular risks for Venezuelan refugees and migrants such as eviction, loss of livelihoods, border closures and other travel restric- VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR790.IS SR790 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 790 IS tions, lack of access to health care for those without doc- umentation, and gender-based violence; Whereas it is well-recognized that displacement crises— (1) exacerbate pre-existing violence against women and girls; (2) interrupt children’s education and increase their exposure to violence and exploitation; (3) cause major stress and trauma on individuals and families that can have profound effects on mental health and result in significant needs for psychological and social support; and (4) disrupt family and community connections that mitigate against such violence and trauma; Whereas, between 2015 and 2016, maternal mortality rates in Venezuela increased by 65 percent and infant mor- tality within the first week of life increased by 53 per- cent, and the dire state of Venezuela’s public health sys- tem has compelled women to flee the country in order to give birth; Whereas one-third of Venezuelan households are food inse- cure, with the greatest risk of adverse nutritional impacts on children, pregnant and lactating women, and the el- derly, according to the World Food Program; Whereas the growing prevalence of criminal violence, espe- cially intimate partner violence, and human trafficking, endemic corruption, and impunity in Venezuela has con- tributed to a significant increase in femicides; Whereas Venezuelan women and girls report an increase in pregnancies of adolescent girls over the past 2 years, in- cluding many resulting from sexual violence and coercion; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR790.IS SR790 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 790 IS Whereas indigenous women and girls in Venezuela’s border communities face heightened risks of violence as a result of extreme poverty, discrimination, and the encroachment of extractive mining industries on their land; Whereas women and girls fleeing Venezuela face grave threats of sexual violence, exploitation, and trafficking by armed groups operating in border regions, such as the Eje´rcito de Liberacio´n Nacional (ELN), and these threats have grown since COVID-related border closures have forced asylum seekers into unofficial border crossing routes (‘‘trochas’’); Whereas the trafficking of Venezuelan women and children is linked to organized crime and armed groups, which often kidnap girls into trafficking networks in other countries and, in addition, forcibly recruit boys and young men; Whereas, despite the generous policies of host countries, less than half of Venezuelan refugee and migrant children were attending school prior to COVID-related closures, because of lack of documentation to enroll, limited space in public schools, and lack of resources to pay fees; Whereas governments throughout Latin America and the Caribbean have participated in a series of technical meet- ings to coordinate a regional strategy for the protection and regularization of Venezuelan refugees and mi- grants—known as the ‘‘Quito Process’’—and issued a joint declaration in November 2019 that agreed to strengthen measures against human trafficking, gender- based violence, discrimination, and xenophobia, and to es- tablish a regional protection protocol for refugee and mi- grant children and adolescents; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR790.IS SR790 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 790 IS Whereas the United States has committed to strengthen international protection of women and children through the U.S. Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security, which aims to ‘‘promote the protection of women and girls’ human rights; access to humanitarian assistance; and safety from violence, abuse, and exploitation around the world’’, as well as through the U.S. Government Strategy on Advancing Protection and Care for Children in Adver- sity; and Whereas the international community has prioritized address- ing the issue of gender-based violence in humanitarian contexts by establishing a Safe from the Start initiative, implemented by the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) expresses grave concern for the massive and 2 growing humanitarian needs of Venezuelans, includ- 3 ing over 5,400,000 Venezuelan refugees and mi- 4 grants, with particular concern for the impact of the 5 displacement crisis and the COVID–19 pandemic on 6 women and children; 7 (2) recognizes the many communities across 8 Latin America and the Caribbean that continue to 9 generously receive and host Venezuelan refugees and 10 migrants while also fighting to recover from the 11 COVID–19 pandemic; 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR790.IS SR790 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 790 IS (3) appreciates participation in the Quito Proc- 1 ess by the Governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, 2 Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ec- 3 uador, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, 4 and Uruguay, and encourages implementation of 5 their commitments to strengthen national processes 6 of documentation and registration and to bolster 7 protections for Venezuelan refugees and migrants 8 subject to gender-based violence, human trafficking, 9 and xenophobia; 10 (4) encourages governments hosting Venezuelan 11 refugees and migrants, as well as international and 12 nongovernmental organizations providing assistance, 13 to ensure that shelter, health care, food assistance, 14 mental health and psychosocial support, and other 15 basic services are accessible to women and children; 16 (5) calls on the international community, in- 17 cluding both humanitarian and development actors, 18 to focus greater attention and resources to address 19 the violence, abuse, and exploitation suffered by 20 Venezuelan women and children, including by 21 disaggregating data by sex and age in needs assess- 22 ments and program reporting; and 23 (6) supports increasing United States diplo- 24 matic initiatives and humanitarian assistance to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR790.IS SR790 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •SRES 790 IS strengthen protections for Venezuelan refugees and 1 migrants and their host communities, with an em- 2 phasis on the protection of women and children. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR790.IS SR790 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS