New Highlights
The number of Colombians who have returned from Venezuela since 19 August 2015 has topped to 21,400, with 1,482 of these deported during the first two weeks of the police operation by Venezuelan authorities. Partial border closures have been implemented in three zones of Táchira and Zulia states in Venezuela, affecting four departments of Colombia: Norte de Santander, La Guajira, Arauca and Vichada.
In Norte de Santander, Colombian authorities established 23 shelters and hotels, where conditions remain precarious for girls, boys and adolescents.
The situation in Cucuta puts children’s rights and well-being at risk: the shelters are overcrowded, insecure, there lack hygiene facilities. There is no privacy and dignity for children and girls in particular. Levels of social tension in the shelters have grown as the situation is prolonged.
In La Guajira Department, on the far north eastern border with Venezuela, the children arriving at the border find no services, minimal opportunity for shelter or transport to the nearest town of Maicao. Far fewer persons (1,153) have returned to La Guajira than to Norte de Santander. The social cohesion has been severely eroded, due to over-crowding, pressure on local household economies, and shortage in basic supplies. While both Governments recognize the right of the indigenous Wayúu population to cross the border freely, there are obstacles in practice which hamper their movement and prevent traditional trade activities.