[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 204 (Thursday, December 3, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7217-S7218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 790--SUPPORTING EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN PROTECTION, 
      ASSISTANCE, AND SOLUTIONS FOR VENEZUELAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Durbin) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 790

       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;

[[Page S7218]]

       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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