EU, UN To Host Solidarity Forum Next Week To Boost Support For Venezuela Refugees - UNHCR

Muhammad Irfan Published October 23, 2019 | 09:15 PM

The European Union, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration will hold an International Solidarity Conference next week in Brussels to seek increased support for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, the UNHCR said in a press release on Wednesday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2019) The European Union, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration will hold an International Solidarity Conference next week in Brussels to seek increased support for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, the UNHCR said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Calling for urgent and concerted action for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, the European Union, together with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), are organizing a high-level International Solidarity Conference next week on 28 and 29 October in Brussels," the release said.

High-level officials from Latin America and the Caribbean - where 80 percent of the Venezuelan refugees and migrants are hosted - as well as civil society and private sector representatives will attend the meeting, the release said.

Representatives of EU member states and the United Nations will also be present, the release added.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in the release that the moment has arrived to call for even greater support for Venezuelan refugees, migrants and their host communities by the international community.

"We want to raise awareness about the gravity of this crisis, we want to confirm and increase international support for a regional and coordinated response," Mogherini said.

UNHCR has said it estimates the number of Venezuelan refugees to be around 4.5 million.