III 

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 restricVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR790.IS SR790

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 790 IS 

tions, 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; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 790 IS 

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 

Eje ́rcito de Liberacio ́n 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, genderbased violence, discrimination, and xenophobia, and to establish a regional protection protocol for refugee and migrant children and adolescents; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 790 IS 

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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses grave concern for the massive and 

3 growing humanitarian needs of Venezuelans, includ4 ing over 5,400,000 Venezuelan refugees and mi5 grants, with particular concern for the impact of the 

6 displacement crisis and the COVID–19 pandemic on 

7 women and children; 

8 (2) recognizes the many communities across 

9 Latin America and the Caribbean that continue to 

10 generously receive and host Venezuelan refugees and 

11 migrants while also fighting to recover from the 

12 COVID–19 pandemic; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 790 IS 

1 (3) appreciates participation in the Quito Proc2 ess by the Governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, 

3 Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ec4 uador, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, 

5 and Uruguay, and encourages implementation of 

6 their commitments to strengthen national processes 

7 of documentation and registration and to bolster 

8 protections for Venezuelan refugees and migrants 

9 subject to gender-based violence, human trafficking, 

10 and xenophobia; 

11 (4) encourages governments hosting Venezuelan 

12 refugees and migrants, as well as international and 

13 nongovernmental organizations providing assistance, 

14 to ensure that shelter, health care, food assistance, 

15 mental health and psychosocial support, and other 

16 basic services are accessible to women and children; 

17 (5) calls on the international community, in18 cluding both humanitarian and development actors, 

19 to focus greater attention and resources to address 

20 the violence, abuse, and exploitation suffered by 

21 Venezuelan women and children, including by 

22 disaggregating data by sex and age in needs assess23 ments and program reporting; and 

24 (6) supports increasing United States diplo25 matic initiatives and humanitarian assistance to 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•SRES 790 IS 

1 strengthen protections for Venezuelan refugees and 

2 migrants and their host communities, with an em3 phasis on the protection of women and children. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS