[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 790 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






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 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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 humanitarian 
        assistance as a result of the country's ongoing political and economic 
        crisis;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the humanitarian 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 restrictions, lack 
        of access to health care for those without documentation, 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 mortality within the first week of life 
        increased by 53 percent, and the dire state of Venezuela's public health 
        system has compelled women to flee the country in order to give birth;
Whereas one-third of Venezuelan households are food insecure, with the greatest 
        risk of adverse nutritional impacts on children, pregnant and lactating 
        women, and the elderly, according to the World Food Program;
Whereas the growing prevalence of criminal violence, especially intimate partner 
        violence, and human trafficking, endemic corruption, and impunity in 
        Venezuela has contributed to a significant increase in femicides;
Whereas Venezuelan women and girls report an increase in pregnancies of 
        adolescent girls over the past 2 years, including many resulting from 
        sexual violence and coercion;
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 Ejercito de Liberacion 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 meetings to coordinate a regional strategy for 
        the protection and regularization of Venezuelan refugees and migrants--
        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 establish a regional protection protocol for refugee and migrant 
        children and adolescents;
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 Adversity; and
Whereas the international community has prioritized addressing 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) expresses grave concern for the massive and growing 
        humanitarian needs of Venezuelans, including over 5,400,000 
        Venezuelan refugees and migrants, with particular concern for 
        the impact of the displacement crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic 
        on women and children;
            (2) recognizes the many communities across Latin America 
        and the Caribbean that continue to generously receive and host 
        Venezuelan refugees and migrants while also fighting to recover 
        from the COVID-19 pandemic;
            (3) appreciates participation in the Quito Process by the 
        Governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, 
        the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, 
        Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay, and encourages implementation of 
        their commitments to strengthen national processes of 
        documentation and registration and to bolster protections for 
        Venezuelan refugees and migrants subject to gender-based 
        violence, human trafficking, and xenophobia;
            (4) encourages governments hosting Venezuelan refugees and 
        migrants, as well as international and nongovernmental 
        organizations providing assistance, to ensure that shelter, 
        health care, food assistance, mental health and psychosocial 
        support, and other basic services are accessible to women and 
        children;
            (5) calls on the international community, including both 
        humanitarian and development actors, to focus greater attention 
        and resources to address the violence, abuse, and exploitation 
        suffered by Venezuelan women and children, including by 
        disaggregating data by sex and age in needs assessments and 
        program reporting; and
            (6) supports increasing United States diplomatic 
        initiatives and humanitarian assistance to strengthen 
        protections for Venezuelan refugees and migrants and their host 
        communities, with an emphasis on the protection of women and 
        children.
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