Three months after its establishment, the International Contact Group for Venezuela, which includes eight European Union countries, has made real progress in the apolitical delivery of international humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans who have remained in the country or who are refugees in neighbouring countries.
“The good news” is that the contact group's contribution in terms of intermediation and funding has made it possible to make “progress in the functioning of the humanitarian coordination system in Venezuela”, said the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, on Monday 6 May at the opening of the third ministerial meeting of the contact group, which took place in San José (Costa Rica).
All parties are asking the group to “continue and expand” its work in this area, she added, noting that “much more” needs to be done to address the humanitarian crisis.
Five thousand people leave Venezuela every day.
In terms of political dialogue, the contact group’s results are extremely limited. The situation on the ground is more polarized than ever after the failure of Operación Libertad launched by self-proclaimed President Juan Guaidó to overthrow the Maduro regime by cutting off military support.
For Ms Mogherini, “there is no winner in the current situation”. The High Representative added: “Recent events are the result of despair and the absence of a political horizon to end the current crisis and confirm the urgent need for a political and peaceful process” led by Venezuelans in accordance with the country's Constitution.
But the international community and the region have a “duty” to create the conditions for finding and implementing such a solution, Mogherini reiterated. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)