Synopsis – Old
HumVenezuela gathers in this document a synopsis of the chronology of the Complex Humanitarian Emergency (CHE) in Venezuela between the years 2016 and 2020. The chronology considers the events of greatest impact on the causes, conditions and trends of the emergency during this period. The sources of information are announcements, declarations, decisions, communications and reports from national and international actors. The synopsis provides insights into the context, milestones, and factors that have been influencing the situation at CHE since 2016.
2016 - United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, describes the situation in Venezuela as a humanitarian crisis created by political instability, adding "I am very concerned about the current situation, in which basic needs cannot be met, such as food, water, sanitation, clothing, are not available".
2017 - OCHA sends Regional Disaster Response Advisor to work on strengthening information management, analysis and understanding of Venezuela's growing vulnerabilities, as the political and economic crisis continues to bring serious health, nutrition and security concerns, affecting the majority of the population.
2017 - WFP points out in the Global Food Crisis Report 2017 that the situation in Venezuela should be monitored due to the worsening of the economic situation that could cause serious shortages of consumer goods, including food and medicines.
2018 - UNICEF warns that child malnutrition is increasing in Venezuela as a result of the prolonged economic crisis and urges a coordinated national response to address the most vulnerable children due to lack of access to medical assistance, food and medicine as clear signs of a crisis.
2018 - UN group of experts urges the Venezuelan government to face the alarming living conditions in Venezuela and the international community to support measures to avoid a tragedy of great proportions, pointing out that "The population in Venezuela is suffering multiple violations of its human rights".
2018 - UNHCR issues Guidance Note on Flow of Venezuelans in which it urges receiving States and those that have already hosted Venezuelans to allow them access to their territories and to continue adopting adequate responses under the national and regional frameworks of international protection.
2018 - UNHCR and IOM create the Regional Platform for Inter-Agency Coordination (R4V) at the request of the UN Secretary General to lead and coordinate the response to Venezuela's refugees and migrants in need of protection, assistance and integration in Latin American and Caribbean receiving countries.
2018 - Global Humanitarian Assistance Fund (CERF) approves emergency resources to address the crisis of refugees and migrants in Venezuela
2018 - Venezuela enters for the first time in OCHA's Global Humanitarian Plan 2019, affirming that Venezuelan migration figures as "the greatest exodus experienced in Latin America and the Caribbean in its modern history" with more than 3.4 million refugees and migrants.
2019 - UN Resident Coordinator, with support from OCHA, installs a Cooperation and Assistance Coordination Team (ECCA) in the framework of the scaling up of UN operations in the country, activating 7 Humanitarian Response Architecture Clusters.
2019 - ECCAH prepares the first Panorama of Humanitarian Needs in Venezuela (HNO 2019) based on the best secondary information available to the United Nations and other actors. However, it was not published.
2019 - The first shipment of humanitarian assistance donated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) arrives for the public health system with 24 tons of emergency medicines, 14 power plants, 14 transformers and water cans.
2019 - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) sign a collaboration agreement to strengthen their cooperation in response to the humanitarian needs of children, adolescents, mothers and pregnant women in Venezuela
2019 - A Humanitarian Coordinator is appointed to lead the humanitarian response coordinated by the United Nations, with support from OCHA. This designation activates a Humanitarian Country Team (EHP) to replace the ECCA and creates an Inter-Cluster Coordination Group, in line with the UN Humanitarian Response Architecture.
2019 - OCHA releases the first 6-month Humanitarian Response Plan developed by the Humanitarian Country Team, Cluster and other humanitarian actors in the country, based on the March 2019 Panorama of Needs. This plan describes the emergency as a "complex context with acute humanitarian needs.
2019 - UNHCR announces that the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela increased from 695,000 in 2015 to more than 4 million in June 2019, increasing by 1 million in only 7 months. The destinations are Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil and Central American and Caribbean countries.
2019 - United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights visits Venezuela with a mandate from the Human Rights Council to prepare a report on the grave situation of human rights in Venezuela. A team from her office was installed in the country following an agreement to provide technical assistance and monitor human rights on the ground.
2019 - United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Relief Coordinator, visits Venezuela and declares: "...I have seen how ordinary women, men, boys and girls face overwhelming challenges to survival every day. Millions of people are unable to access the minimum of food, water, and medical care.
2019 - FAO representative visits Venezuela to evaluate new areas of cooperation in coordination with the United Nations to help solve problems in food and nutritional security, national statistical system, food production and attention to the most vulnerable.
2020 - Venezuela is included in the World Food Crisis Report as the fourth largest food crisis in the world among the ten largest, after a year of being on the list of countries that require foreign assistance in food with considerable needs.
2020 - UN expert group demands Venezuelan government plans to address the devastating effects of the country's economic crisis on human rights and the United States to lift sanctions that aggravate the suffering.
2020 - Government and National Assembly representatives sign a collaboration agreement with the aim of jointly fighting COVID-19.
2020 - OCHA publishes COVID-19 Intersectorial Preparation and Attention Plan for Venezuela and later the second Country Humanitarian Plan 2020 with Panorama of Humanitarian Needs.