Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva insisted this week that his country would remain open to welcoming refugees from Venezuela, Agencia Brasil reported. The head of state made those remarks during a radio interview in Manaus. He also said he hoped the neighboring country would soon “return to normalcy.”
The larges exodus in Latin America’s history just got larger, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said. UN agencies sounded the alarm on Friday over the humanitarian needs after the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela reached 3.4 million people.
The exodus of migrants from Venezuela is building towards a crisis moment comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations migration agency said.
Secretary-General António Guterres told a press conference at UN Headquarters that “migration is a positive global phenomenon.” The Secretary-General stated that on negotiations on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration expected to conclude on Friday in New York, for formal adoption in December in Marrakesh.
The International Organization for Migration, IOM released a study on Monday revealing a trend of increased migration flows from the European Union (EU) to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, and a marked decrease in the movement of people in the other direction.