COLOMBIA

According to official data from the Colombian migration authorities, approximately 1.8 million of the more than 4 million Venezuelan migrants are currently in Colombia.Commuters and so-called “transit migrants“ are not included in these statistics, which means that their actual number is probably even higher.

The fact that Colombia is the preferred destination for Venezuelan refugees can be explained by its linguistic and cultural proximity and by the fact that many families have relatives on both sides of the border. While these aspects facilitate integration, they do not reduce the economic challenges for the host country’s institutions. Moreover, large numbers of migrants are suffering extreme economic, social, physical and psychological hardship.

The Colombian-Venezuelan border, which is more than 2,000 kilometres long, has only seven official border crossings and, for long stretches, runs through rough terrain, which makes it practically impossible to control entry and exit and (legal and illegal) trade. A large proportion of migrants enter the country via the numerous illegal border crossings, which are usually controlled by criminal groups, making registration and providing immediate care (food, medical examination and treatment) difficult. . By now, the Colombian government has initiated a generous legalisation process.Since May 2021, all Venezuelans living in Colombia legally or illegally have been eligible to register with the migration authorities in order to legalise their status under a new temporary residence status. This initiative is an important message by the Colombian government, opening up prospects for migrants for staying in the country permanently and supporting their integration into society and the labour market. By late 2021, 1.7 million migrants had already entered their names in the new single register in order to legalise their status. The biometric data of almost a million Venezuelans have already been recorded, so that the stated goal of the government of issuing 1.8 million residence permits by mid-2022 seems realistic.

The Colombian government is aware of the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and is trying, in a spirit of generous, neighbourly solidarity, to receive and care for migrants as best it can. At the same time, with international support, tremendous pressure is being exerted on the Venezuelan government, because if there is no change in the situation there, migration to Colombia will increase. The future stability of Colombia and the region essentially depends on whether migration flows can be regulated efficiently and distributed more evenly.

The German government has provided important support for managing the migration crisis from the very beginning. Germany’s experience with the wave of migration from Syria in 2015 was closely observed in Colombia, because Colombia had been more a country of emigration than of immigration before the Venezuelan crisis, and had therefore had little experience with the phenomenon of massive immigration. There is thus considerable interest in a dialogue with Germany regarding successful measures and avoidable mistakes with respect to managing migration.

The Colombian government, for example, has adopted the German system for the identification and registration of migrants.

Colombia is committed to introducing this system regionally as part of the “Quito Process”. Also, the country could pick some ideas from the German model for the distribution of migrants across regions and federal states (depending on economic capacity and population structure) . Colombia is anxious to achieve a more even distribution of migrants in the region. The fact that the proposal only received a lukewarm response from countries that are not directly or equally affected by migration shows some parallels to the European migration debate.

At the international level, Colombia, like Germany, has actively participated in initiatives such as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration at UN level, and in the Solidarity Conference held last year in Brussels at the initiative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the EU. Colombia and Germany, as important host countries for migrants and refugees, are strong supporters of the Migration and Refugee Compact. Germany has a special role here, as it is the only country in the world to be both one of the ten host countries taking in most refugees and, at the same time, one of the biggest contributors to the UNHCR.

There is currently intense cooperation between Colombia and Germany on migration. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is providing support and advice on introducing the system for identifying and registering migrants (especially in border areas). The Federal Foreign Office (AA) is heavily involved in the area of humanitarian aid. Germany also provides substantial funding to the UN and EU migration programmes in Colombia.

The German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), for example, is implementing projects to develop the local economy, in which migration is to be used for the country’s development, for example by promoting business start-ups and other productive initiatives, launched by migrants in Colombia. Support has also been given to communities that host migrants, especially in the Venezuelan-Colombian border area.

Political foundations are engaged in providing analysis, education and policy consultation by training government representatives, members of parliament and political decision-makers and raising their awareness of relevant issues. A particular focus is policy consultation with respect to the ongoing debate on a Colombian immigration law.

Church organisations also play an important role in supporting migrants (especially for emergency aid). Caritas Germany, for example, cooperates with local religious organisations to help provide care for migrants and Colombian returnees from Venezuela.

Unless the political, economic and social situation in Venezuela decisively improves, it can be assumed that by the end of 2022 hundreds of thousands more migrants will leave Venezuela, looking for a new home in Colombia or neighbouring countries. The Colombian Presidential elections, scheduled for the first half of 2022, will determine whether the new government is prepared to restore the severed diplomatic relations to the Maduro regime in order to achieve a minimum consensus on issues such as easing trade restrictions, facilitating cross-border traffic as well as fighting criminal gangs in the border areas. Pragmatic solutions could ease the humanitarian emergency in the border area and strengthen government control as well as border security. Even if this would lessen the acute emergency, the potential and the need for cooperation remain substantial.

Germany should become even more involved at the multilateral level in order to maintain international pressure on the Maduro regime and thus contribute to a peaceful transition in the medium term. Redemocratisation, combined with international aid for reconstruction of the country, would alleviate migration pressure and open up the prospect of a return to their home countries for many emigrants. Germany should be proactively engaged in this process.

A migration movement of this magnitude must be accompanied by longer-term planning, that is primarily focused on the implementation of appropriate medium and long-term public policies (such as in healthcare and education), apart from taking necessary emergency action. It is especially important to provide advice and support to regional and local governments and administrations, because these have suffered most from the economic impact and they have shown a keen interest in suitable training programs. Germany can offer such advice based on its own experience and thereby contribute to strengthening the responsible Colombian institutions, to decentralising the provision of care for migrants and to regional development.

Given that both Colombia and Germany will continue to be immigration countries in the foreseeable future, there is a considerable congruence of interests for pulling together on a multilateral level. Apart from specific support measures on the ground, German foreign policy should emphasise the value of including Colombia as a strategic interest partner in the global migration debate, so that the Global Migration Compact and the Global Refugee Compact, which both countries support, can now be gradually implemented following their adoption in December 2018.

Stefan Reith heads the KAS Office in Colombia.

Last update:April 27th, 2022