Govt. will continue to protect and support refugees entering Guyana

Govt. will continue to protect and support refugees entering Guyana – Minister Teixeira

Jun 25, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira on Friday said that the government will continue to support refugees entering Guyana by ensuring that they are well taken care of and protected.

Minister Teixeira made the commitment on Friday at an event the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) hosted at the Marriott Hotel to commemorate World Refugee Day observed on June 20.

The minister said that the government remains resolute in its commitment to accommodating and integrating migrants through its open-door policy.

She shared that currently as the country continues to see persons from neighbouring Venezuela come to Guyana, the government of Guyana is working and will continue to work to provide for them.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira delivering brief remarks on Friday at the United Nations Refugee Agency event at the Marriott Hotel.

“We will try to continue to work to ensure that people coming in are not exploited, abandoned, not being used by traffickers among us, and that’s the responsibility that we have. And we have also the importance of making sure that the children are taken care of, that they are safe, that they are in schools, that they are also able to get their vaccinations,” she said.

Head of National Office of United Nations High Comissiomer for Refugees (UNHCR) in Guyana, Henry Sylvain Yakara

Meanwhile, Head of National Office of UNHCR in Guyana, Henry Sylvain Yakara said the UNHCR Global Report for 2022 noted that the number of persons forced to flee across borders in 2022 stood at 108.4million. In 2023, that number has since increased to 100 million.

“This figure emphasizes the urgency and important of involving all stakeholders in finding durable solutions for them,” he said. He added that majority of these forcibly displaced persons have been living in low and middle income countries.

Some of the winners of the UN Refugee Agency poem competition held in observance of World Refugee Day.

In Guyana however, he said that they have witnessed the remarkable resilience in capacity for inclusion.

“I want to recognize and commend the open-door policy applied by the Government of Guyana, and the provision of protection, security and better opportunity for Venezuelan migrants and forcibly displaced people and the strong commitment to inclusion,” he expressed.

One of the cultural performances done by children of migrants in Guyana.

The World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on 20 June and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.

In 2023 the World Refugee Day focused globally on solutions for refugees and the power of inclusion.

The event’s tagline was: Hope Away from Home, a world where refugees are always included.

Gail Teixeira, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, refugees, support, Venezuela

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