ROME, SEPTEMBER 6 - The Colombian Ombudsman, Carlos Alfonso Negret, asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to intercede for the migration regulation in the region to be made more flexible in the face of the exodus of Venezuelans fleeing the crisis in their country. The Venezuelan site Efecto Cocuyo reports this.
In a letter dated last Sunday and announced on Thursday, the official appealed to Bachelet after claiming that Ecuador's decision to apply for a visa to Venezuelans intending to enter their country may lead to "a serious problem for the region" .
"His intervention and his leadership are indispensable so that decisions can be taken at regional level to make the existing mechanisms of migration regularization more flexible, so as to establish and update the agreements signed by the States," reads the letter.
The ombudsman also stressed that the measure adopted by Ecuador, which came into force on August 26, "exacerbates the vulnerable conditions of the migrant population".
Negret reported that 11,000 Venezuelans entered Colombia with the intention of crossing the border with Ecuador, but because of the restrictions, he fears that this population will try to "cross the border canals irregularly".
Finally, Negret stressed that in Colombia a measure was approved to guarantee citizenship to the children of Venezuelans born in the country, but these "efforts remain sterile" if similar actions are not carried out in the region. (HANDLE).