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[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 375 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 375

Supporting efforts to strengthen protection, assistance, and solutions 
                   for Venezuelan women and children.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2021

   Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cardin, Mr. 
 Kaine, and Mr. Cassidy) 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 the Venezuelan refugee and migration crisis represents the largest 
        recorded displacement crisis in the Western Hemisphere, with over 
        5,400,000 Venezuelans displaced outside of their home country as of 
        November 2020;
Whereas one-third of Venezuelans are food insecure, with the greatest impacts on 
        children, pregnant women, and the elderly, according to the World Food 
        Program;
Whereas femicides in Venezuela have increased significantly in recent years due 
        to rises in criminal violence, intimate partner violence, human 
        trafficking, endemic corruption, and lack of accountability for criminal 
        offenses;
Whereas the dire state of Venezuela's public health system, including extremely 
        high maternal and infant mortality rates, has compelled women and girls 
        to flee the country to give birth;
Whereas a 2019 report from the United Nations Population Fund stated that 95 in 
        every 1,000 births in Venezuela from 2003 to 2018 were to mothers aged 
        15 to 19;
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);
Whereas, after fleeing the horrors in Venezuela, Venezuelan refugees and 
        migrants face additional challenges, including lack of access to safe 
        shelter, jobs, documentation, healthcare, and increased restrictions on 
        freedom of movement;
Whereas governments in Latin America and the Caribbean participating in the 
        regional coordination forum, the ``Quito Process'', issued a joint 
        declaration in November 2019 committing to strengthen measures against 
        human trafficking, gender-based violence, discrimination, and 
        xenophobia, and to establish a regional protection protocol for 
        Venezuelan refugee and migrant children and adolescents;
Whereas, on February 8, 2021, the Government of Colombia provided Temporary 
        Protected Status to eligible Venezuelans in Colombia--providing them 
        temporary legal status and work authorization for a period of 10 years;
Whereas, on March 8, 2021, the United States designated Venezuela for Temporary 
        Protected Status and provided Deferred Enforced Departure for eligible 
        Venezuelans on January 19, 2021;
Whereas the United States has committed to strengthen international protection 
        of women and children through the United States 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 United States Government Strategy on Advancing Protection and Care 
        for Children in Adversity; and
Whereas the United States 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) commends the efforts of the Government of Colombia for 
        granting Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans, and calls 
        on other refugee-hosting countries to consider similar 
        protections for Venezuelans;
            (4) appreciates the participation in the Quito Process of 
        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;
            (5) encourages governments hosting Venezuelan refugees and 
        migrants, as well as international and nongovernmental 
        organizations providing assistance, to ensure that health care, 
        including mental health, shelter, food assistance, and other 
        basic services are increasingly accessible to women and 
        children;
            (6) 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;
            (7) 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; and
            (8) underscores the need for Venezuelan women to 
        participate in efforts to restore democratic governance and 
        address the complex humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.
                                 <all>
```