Venezuelan refugees in Aruba are the victims of a lack of specific asylum legislation on the island. The post-electoral crisis in Venezuela shows the urgency and need for asylum laws that both protect Venezuelans fleeing the human rights crisis in their country and facilitate and ensure their human rights on Aruba upon arrival.
Aruba is only 24 km away from Venezuela and many Venezuelans arriving in Aruba do so irregularly by dangerous sea journeys, are automatically placed in detention facilities upon arrival and deported.
This is one of the conclusions of Amnesty International’s latest research report ‘Rules But No Protection – Unveiling Gaps in Refugee Protection for Venezuelans in Aruba’, which is published today. The report highlights the lack of specific refugee-related legislation in Aruba, problems associated with the detention of asylum seekers and refugees, and concerns about the treatment of Venezuelan asylum seekers, including children.
The report represents the first investigation by Amnesty International into Venezuelan asylum seekers in Aruba.
Applying for asylum in Aruba
Aruba, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and with a population of 107,151 people, is a popular destination for Venezuelans seeking protection since the outbreak of the crisis in the country. As of June 2023, there are an estimated 17,000 Venezuelans in Aruba.
There has been no direct air traffic between Venezuela and Aruba since 2018 and Venezuelans must adhere to specific visa requirements and possess required documents in order to enter Aruba. The documents are currently difficult to obtain for many Venezuelans, and many Venezuelans reach Aruba by dangerous sea journeys.
Venezuelans can apply for asylum in several ways in Aruba: upon arriving on the island by regular (legal) means; while in Aruba; or following placement in a migrant detention facility.
“While Amnesty International understands that conditions are difficult for an island like Aruba,” says Dagmar Oudshoorn, Director of Amnesty International Netherlands, “it has ratified international human rights treaties which imply certain rights and obligations with respect to refugees and asylum.”
While Amnesty International understands that conditions are difficult for an island like Aruba, it has ratified international human rights treaties which imply certain rights and obligations with respect to refugees and asylum.
Dagmar Oudshoorn, Director of Amnesty International Netherlands.
Aruba is party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and should abide by its obligations, such as the non-refoulement principle, which forbids returning people to countries where they might encounter persecution, torture or other human rights violations, as is currently the case in Venezuela.
Dutch government involvement
“Amnesty International opposes the deportation of Venezuelans from Aruba and is concerned about the protection of Venezuelans in Aruba”, says Dagmar Oudshoorn. “The human rights organisation also has concerns about the involvement of the Dutch government in the accommodation of refugees in Aruba.”
Amnesty International opposes the deportation of Venezuelans from Aruba and is concerned about the protection of Venezuelans in Aruba. The human rights organisation also has concerns about the involvement of the Dutch government in the accommodation of refugees in Aruba.
Dagmar Oudshoorn, Director of Amnesty International Netherlands.
The Dutch government provides support to Aruba for the accommodation of Venezuelan refugees. This support consists of financial and technical aid. It paid for flights used to deport Venezuelans, which means that the Netherlands possibly contravened the non-refoulement principal as well.
Documents from both governments provide evidence of this. Dutch government support focused primarily on the tracing of Venezuelans and on their detention and deportation, rather than on their protection.
Forced detention of migrants
Venezuelans who enter Aruba by irregular means are arrested and placed in migrant detention. On arrival they receive a detention order and all personal possessions such as telephones are confiscated. Within 72 hours a judge assesses the legality of the detention. While the possibility exists for people held at the detention centres to apply for asylum, this is not common knowledge.
Some Venezuelans who were detained in migrant detention facilities indicated that they were pressured into signing deportation orders. The fact that these documents are in Dutch means that many Venezuelans do not understand what they are signing. Moreover, conditions in the detention centres are poor. Lawyers do not have unlimited access to people in the centres, and pregnant women and people with health problems are being locked up and deported. Some Venezuelans indicated that they had been treated in a humiliating and xenophobic manner.
“I slept on the ground in a container for nine days. Without water, light, clean clothes, soap or toothbrush. I was not allowed to go outside for fresh air,’ said ‘Omar’, who was held in detention in a shipping container.
I slept on the ground in a container for nine days. Without water, light, clean clothes, soap or toothbrush. I was not allowed to go outside for fresh air.
‘Omar’, who was held in detention in a shipping container.
Amnesty International calls for action
Amnesty International calls on the authorities in Aruba to adopt specific asylum legislation, with specific laws applying to children. Aruba must ensure that the guardianship service (Voogdijraad) is called in for all cases involving children, and that no child is detained. Furthermore, Venezuelan asylum seekers, refugees and migrants must have access to fair and effective asylum procedures, including Spanish-language information about their rights. Aruba should also not forcibly send any Venezuelans back to Venezuela, or automatically detain any Venezuelan who enters Aruba by irregular means.
The Dutch government must ensure that human rights are respected and safeguarded throughout the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and that financial and technical support does not result in or contribute to human rights abuses in Aruba.
Extended background: The crisis in Venezuela
Since 2014-2015 Venezuelans have experienced increasing deprivation, eroding their economic and social rights, especially to health and food. At least since 2017, many Venezuelans have fled as a result of the systematic repressive policies of the Nicolás Maduro-led government targeting government critics and opposition members. These policies have led to a range of abuses including extrajudicial executions, use of excessive force, arbitrary detentions, torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
The crisis in Venezuela is characterized by a deepening humanitarian emergency, systematic human rights violations, and a profound economic and political downturn.
Due to the dysfunctional rule of law in Venezuela, citizens are left unable to obtain protection in their own country. In addition to human rights abuses, Venezuela grapples with growing inequality and plummeting salaries resulting in the majority of the population being unable to pay for basic products. There is a general lack of provision of fundamental services such as gas, electricity and water.
The multidimensional crisis has resulted in more than 7.71 million Venezuelans, 25% of the population of Venezuela, being compelled to leave their country and seek protection elsewhere, making this one of the largest displacement crises in the world. Latin American and Caribbean countries have received the majority of these refugees (approximately 6.5 million).
Aruba, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and with a population of 107,151 people, is a popular destination for Venezuelans seeking protection since the outbreak of the crisis in the country. It is not only Aruba’s proximity, being just 24km away from Falcón in Venezuela, that is the attraction for many Venezuelans, but also the decades of existing social, economic and historical ties between the countries. As of June 2023, there were an estimated 17,000 Venezuelans in Aruba.
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