UNHCR Chief Grandi Urges Chile To Streamline Documentation Process For Venezuela Refugees

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2019) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grand on Thursday called on the Chilean government to modernize the process of obtaining documentation for Venezuelan refugees and migrants.

"I recognize the efforts Chile and its local communities have made to take in, integrate and provide documentation for refugees and migrants from Venezuela and other countries," Grandi said. "The processes for obtaining documentation must be streamlined to avoid long waits that make it slower and more complicated for refugees and migrants to integrate into society."

Grandi said it is crucial for Chile and other countries in the Andean region to deliver a meaningful response to the exodus of Venezuelans by strengthening regional mechanisms, such as the Quito Process, that aim at coordinating assistance, protection and integration of refugees.

Grandi also said that international partners and institutions should also bolster their response in assisting Venezuelan migrants and step up with financial support.

Chile is the third recipient country, after Colombia and Peru, affected the most by the exodus of Venezuelan refugees and migrants. More than 400,000 of the four million Venezuelans who left their country are currently hosted in Chile.

Venezuela has long been suffering from a humanitarian and political crisis that intensified in January when US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself to be Venezuela's interim president. The United States soon imposed sanctions on Venezuela, froze the country's assets and called on President Nicolas Maduro to step down.

Maduro has called Guaido a US puppet and accused the United States of orchestrating a coup to force a change of government in Venezuela and claim the country's resources.