Voice of America
18 Mar 2023, 10:35 GMT+10
brussels - International donors pledged more than $850 million at a conference in Brussels to help support millions of refugees and migrants who have fled Venezuela, the European Union said on Friday.
The EU and Canada co-hosted the two-day meeting aimed at raising awareness and funds to help tackle what they call one of the world's largest displacement crises.
'Almost 810 million euros [$860 million] have been pledged at the 2023 Solidarity Conference with Venezuelans and their hosts,' European crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic said. 'I am encouraged by the renewed commitment of the international community.'
More than 7 million Venezuelans have left their country, propelled by grinding poverty and a political crisis, according to estimates by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).
Among the main pledges were $171 million from the United States, $80 million from the EU and $42 million from Canada.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government had accused Canada and the European Union of convening a 'hostile' conference that politicizes migration.
Caracas strongly objected to the International Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants and their Host Countries and Communities, with the foreign ministry calling it a 'spectacle that only serves the commercial interests of some participants."
The UNHCR and International Organization for Migration, which were both involved in the conference, had urged increased international support for Venezuelan refugees and migrants and the Latin American and Caribbean countries that host them.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi thanked the EU and Canada for hosting the event. He called the plight of the Venezuelan refugees 'one of many dimensions of human mobility in the Americas that need humanitarian and development responses."
Get a daily dose of Europe Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Europe Sun.
More InformationTAIPEI, Taiwan: In an effort to ease tensions between Taiwan and China, former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou will visit Beijing ...
NIAMEY, Niger: Four weeks after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger, an American aid worker and a French ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: While chairing a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers in Brussels this week, European Union (EU) foreign ...
BANGUI, Central African Republic: Authorities from the Central African Republic have said that nine Chinese nationals were killed and two ...
MENINDEE, Australia: After recent floods and hot weather, millions of dead fish have washed up in southeastern Australia, which authorities ...
BOISE, Idaho: Under a bill passed by the Idaho Legislature thios with a veto-proof majority, the state will allow firing ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Commerce Department has proposed new laws aimed at preventing China and other countries deemed of concern ...
NEW YORK, New York - As concerns over the banking sector eased, U.S. stocks moved moderately higher on Thursday, but ...
MEXICO CITY, Mexico: Amid Tesla's plan to open a $5 billion Gigafactory in the country, Mexico will soon become an ...
PARIS, France: Amidst the mass deaths of dolphins and porpoises in recent years, France's highest administrative body has ordered the ...
MANILA, Philippines: An underwater robot from Japan has located a leaking fuel tanker, MT Princess Empress, which sank off the ...
NEW YORK, New York - A hike in official U.S. interest rates of 0.25 percent, and a jump in inflation ...