WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced a bipartisan resolution in support of efforts strengthening international protection of and assistance to Venezuelan women and children. The bipartisan resolution comes during the United Nation’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
“With this resolution, we stand in solidarity with Venezuelan women and children who are suffering immeasurably in the humanitarian crisis wrought by Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship,” Ranking Member Menendez said. “As the United Nations observes 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, I am deeply concerned about the sexual violence and human trafficking perpetrated against Venezuelan women and children fleeing through border regions. The international community must strengthen its efforts to protect the safety, health, and human rights of women and children in Venezuela and in the many communities across Latin America and the Caribbean who have Venezuelan refugees and migrants.”
The resolution recognizes that the ongoing political and economic crisis has displaced more than 5,400,000 Venezuelans and left more than 7,000,000 others still in the country in dire need of humanitarian assistance. It also asserts that the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated conditions already intensified by the crisis, which include systemic violence, abuse, and exploitation against women and girls, and expresses concern for the grave risks that women and children presently face as they flee the country.
Find a copy of the resolution HERE.
###