In the framework of World Refugee Day, which is celebrated every June 20, the president of the National Commission for Refugees, Juan Carlos Alemán, reiterated that to all individuals and families who have been subjected to discrimination, hatred, and persecution for their race, sex or religion, Venezuela welcomes them with open arms and outstretched hand.
“We, from the great homeland of Bolívar, from the beautiful homeland of Hugo Chávez, and from the good homeland of Nicolás Maduro, tell all those people who suffer from these evils, who are attacked simply for their skin color, for their politics ideas, or for any situation such as sex, color, or religion, that Bolívar’s homeland is here, always with open arms”, Aleman said in a video posted on his Twitter account @aleman72psuv.
hoy #DiaMundialDeLosRefugiados el mundo está atravesando una situación mundial compleja, debido a la pandemia. Aún así ratificamos el compromiso de una patria que tiene un profundo respeto a los derechos humanos, un profundo sentido de solidaridad y de hermandad.#ConareManoAmiga pic.twitter.com/FX12vAihUE
— Juan Carlos Alemán Cuenta Oficial (@aleman72psuv) June 20, 2020
Likewise, he commented that despite the complex situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, “Venezuela continues to ratify the commitment of a country that has deep respect for human rights, a deep sense of solidarity and brotherhood”.
Role of Venezuela in the protection of refugees
In the case of Venezuela, since 1986 it ratified the Protocol on the Status of Refugees in 1967, so the Bolivarian Government took this issue to the constitutional level.
One of the factors that contributed to this process in Venezuela was the massive displacement -due to the armed conflict- of thousands of Colombian citizens to Venezuelan territory in 1999.
For this reason, the Venezuelan State created the National Commission for Refugees (Conare) in 2000 and with it the legal refuge platform in Venezuela was built, through the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in its article 69, of the year 1999, as well as in the Organic Law on Refugees and Asylees (Lorraa), promulgated under the mandate of the commander and leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chávez, on October 3, 2001.
Since then, Venezuela has received Colombian, Syrian, Palestinian, Spanish, African, Belgian, Basque and German citizens, who have been welcomed and respected, providing them with protection and guaranteeing all public and social policies established in the Constitution, without exclusion -the same rights and duties of any citizen born in Venezuela-.