73rd Session of the UN General Assembly
Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie attended the High-Level Meeting on mass migration of Venezuelan citizens organized by Colombia, which took place in Conference Room 1 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, for the purpose of considering potential courses of action in order to implement a coordinated response to migration flows of Venezuelans and their impact on the region.
The President of Colombia, Iván Duque Márquez, and the Vice-president of the United States, Mike Pence, opened the meeting. Faurie then held an open dialogue with Foreign Ministers of the region, directors of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as directors of United Nations agencies.
During the meeting, Faurie stated that this regional humanitarian and migration crisis is having an impact on Argentina and that, within the context of this event, Argentina shares the international, comprehensive and coordinated approach of Colombia. As regards the proposal of creating a "humanitarian fund for emergencies", Faurie considered that it would be convenient to secure international funding for helping host countries (including Argentina) in their efforts to face the migration crisis.
The Argentine Foreign Minister noted that Argentina has been involved in various initiatives to coordinate and define guidelines for a comprehensive response.
At a domestic level, Faurie stated that Argentina has facilitated residency applications and the certification of diplomas for thousands of Venezuelans in Argentina since 2016. He recalled that on 23 June Argentina decided to send an interdisciplinary team of doctors under the coordination of White Helmets, which has provided medical assistance in Cúcuta (Colombia) to over 3000 Venezuelan patients.
He also highlighted that the support of the United Nations system and the contribution of its capabilities and experience, in addition to funding programmes and projects, are considered to be essential by Argentina.
In this regard, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Americas stated that the United Nations Secretary-General will appoint Eduardo Stein as "Special Representative for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants". Eduardo Stein served as vice president of Guatemala from 2004 to 2008 and had served as a consultant for the International Organization for Migration in Guatemala. He also served as Foreign Minister of Guatemala during the administration of Álvaro Arzú (1996-2000).
Press Release No. 383/18
