The favourable protection environment in Brazil has allowed the legal recognition of Venezuelans to hold refugee status through a prima facie procedure on the grounds of the Cartagena Declaration. However, the border with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing access to territory and documentation.
As part of UNHCR’s multi-sectoral response, UNHCR implemented 576 Better Shelter Relief Housing Units (RHUs) to serve largely as temporary shelters for migrating families, on the path to interiorization in Brazil. Evidence from implementing partners on the ground indicate that the RHUs have been used in temporary hospitals and health clinics, community infrastructure and educational structures.
Read more about UNHCR’s efforts in Brazil here
To underscore the importance of inclusion, the ability of refugees to contribute to host communities and raise awareness about the situation of forced displacement in Brazil and worldwide, UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency) and its partners carry out, in June, many activities to mark World Refugee Day, whose official date is June 20th. In Roraima, the activities of the World Refugee Day were carried out in partnership with AVSI (Association of Volunteers for International Service), FSF (Fraternity Without Borders), FFHI (International Humanitarian Federation) and the Brazilian Object House Museum, with support from the Humanitarian Task Force of Logistics of Operation Welcome and Shopping Garden. For UNHCR, partnerships such as these are essential to create opportunities for local integration and refugee and migrant inclusion in the communities. World Refugee Day is a milestone to celebrate the overcoming capacity of these people, who, even when forced to move, did not win empty-handed and have a lot of talent, experience and knowledge to share and collaborate with the local population. - Art Exhibition at the Garden mall - The exhibition was held in a space provided free of charge by the Garden mall. During the three days of exhibition, a local community visited the space, talked with the artists and several pieces produced by refugees and migrants were acquired by the visitors. - Activities in the shelters - A series of activities marked the agenda of World Refugee Day within the shelters of Operation Welcome - the Brazilian government's response to the flow of refugees and migrants from Venezuela to Brazil. There were sporting tournaments, sewing workshops, handmade soaps, children's drawing, as well as cultural performances of dance, music and poetry. ; UNHCR has been operating since the beginning of the Brazil humanitarian response to the Venezuelan situation in 2018. In Roraima, UNHCR is managing in a collaborative agreement with the Brazilian Ministry of Citiz
To underscore the importance of inclusion, the ability of refugees to contribute to host communities and raise awareness about the situation of forced displacement in Brazil and worldwide, UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency) and its partners carry out, in June, many activities to mark World Refugee Day, whose official date is June 20th. In Roraima, the activities of the World Refugee Day were carried out in partnership with AVSI (Association of Volunteers for International Service), FSF (Fraternity Without Borders), FFHI (International Humanitarian Federation) and the Brazilian Object House Museum, with support from the Humanitarian Task Force of Logistics of Operation Welcome and Shopping Garden. For UNHCR, partnerships such as these are essential to create opportunities for local integration and refugee and migrant inclusion in the communities. World Refugee Day is a milestone to celebrate the overcoming capacity of these people, who, even when forced to move, did not win empty-handed and have a lot of talent, experience and knowledge to share and collaborate with the local population. - Art Exhibition at the Garden mall - The exhibition was held in a space provided free of charge by the Garden mall. During the three days of exhibition, a local community visited the space, talked with the artists and several pieces produced by refugees and migrants were acquired by the visitors. Interview - Carlos Enrique Diaz Acuna, 65 years-old is one of the 7,800 refugees and migrants protected in one of the 14 Operation Welcome shelters in the cities of Boa Vista and Pacaraima, in Roraima. Graduated in Arts, he was Professor of Plastic Arts and Director of the Museum of the Universidad Central de Venezuela, in Caracas. Since he arrived in Brazil in October 2019, he has never had the opportunity to exhibit his work to the public. “I believe the exhibition was a great successâ€, says Carlos, who had all his works sold in the days of the exhibition, as well as orders fo
Inside a UNHCR refugee housing unit (RHU) at the Integrated Assistance Centre in Maicao, Colombia. ; Colombia is hosting around 1.7 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants, while continuing to experience its own historic displacement situations. Maicao in northern Colombia has one of the highest populations of displaced Venezuelans in the region and La Guajira ranks highest on the country’s basic needs index. The Integrated Assistance Centre opened in Maicao in March 2019, using UNHCR’s refugee housing units to provide short term shelter for up to 1,400 people. The centre also assists people with food, health services, legal orientation, counselling and family reunifications. Beneficiaries can stay for up to one month and prioritisation is given to the most vulnerable refugees, migrants, Colombian returnees and the indigenous Wayuú population.
