Venezuela, once one of Latin America’s oldest and strongest democracies with a booming economy, is in crisis.[i] It made international headlines in January when Juan Guaidó, the leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly, declared himself interim president and was recognized as such by many countries, including Canada[ii].
Yet, since 2014, the economic and humanitarian crisis has not yet ceased, causing more than 2.3 million Venezuelans to flee their country.[iii] Curiously, the vast majority of these individuals have not been recognized as refugees[iv]. It is concerning that, despite the definition of a refugee as defined in the 1951 Refugee Convention, the international community has failed to consider these individuals as Convention refugees.
Human Rights Watch has reported a total of more than 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled their country since 2014. Many others have left without having had their cases registered by the authorities[v]. Despite these numbers, international media is reticent to describe these individuals as refugees. Rather, these individuals have been more frequently described as migrants, whom fleeing hyperinflation, starvation, and hardship[vi].
As serious as they may be, none of the above mentioned situations would entitle Venezuelans to international protection under international law or the domestic law of most countries, including Canada. Consequently, UNHCR reports that, only 146,500 have applied for asylum and formal recognition and protection as refugees[vii].
This article will first explore the term refugee within the international and Canadian law context, to then arrive at demonstrating how the current crisis in Venezuela fits perfectly well with the definition of a refugee.
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