Washington, DC – On September 17 and 18, the Inter-American Dialogue’s Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program launched its Venezuela Working Group, a task force of prominent hemispheric leaders committed to formulating and actively promoting policy responses to the crisis in Venezuela.

Venezuela confronts the Americas’ most acute governance crisis today. “The scale and consequences of the situation in Venezuela demand a sharp, sustained focus. Our Group will concentrate on strengthening regional cooperation and multilateral action in response to the economic, democratic, and humanitarian challenges in Venezuela,” noted Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica and one of the co-chairs of the Group.

To address this challenge, the group, whose members include top-tier hemispheric policymakers and analysts, has a strategic objective to inform, shape, and strengthen the actions of the actors best positioned to advance a democratic, peaceful, and prosperous future for Venezuela.  The group will also tackle the external impacts of the Venezuelan crisis, including forced migration. Donna Hrinak, a former U.S. Ambassador and the second co-chair of the Group, observed, “Economic freefall and the growing consolidation of an autocratic state have forced millions of Venezuelans to flee. It is nothing short of a humanitarian tragedy that will require a bold and coordinated international response.”

At its inaugural meeting, the Working Group discussed the trajectory of Venezuela’s political and economic crisis as well as the external impacts of this crisis. Members also analyzed efforts by national governments and multilateral bodies to address the challenges within Venezuela and beyond its borders. “Over the coming weeks and months, the insights and recommendations of the Venezuela Working Group will be conveyed to decisionmakers and diplomats throughout the Americas. Our ambition is to both formulate policy solutions and build the necessary political consensus around them,” noted Michael Camilleri, director of the Dialogue’s Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program.

At the conclusion of the meeting Michael Shifter, President of the Inter-American Dialogue said, “We are honored to harness our network and engage such an impressive group of experts. Through the Venezuela Working Group, we hope to propose actionable solutions in response to the defining hemispheric challenge of our time.”

About the Venezuela Working Group at the Inter-American Dialogue

The Venezuela Working Group is an initiative of the Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program. The group will meet three times over an 18-month period.  Each Working Group meeting will be followed by a policy paper that will be informed by the ideas and proposals discussed during the meeting, as well as a plan for coordinated follow-up action and strategy execution by Group members.  The members of the group include: Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica), Donna Hrinak (United States), Andrés Serbin (Argentina), Diego García-Sayán (Peru), Feliciano Reyna (Venezuela), Jamal Khokhar (Canada), Jeff Davidow (United States), José Ignacio Hernández (Venezuela), Juan Carlos Pinzón (Colombia), Juan Gabriel Valdés (Chile), Roberta Jacobson (United States), Rosario Córdoba (Colombia), Serena Joseph-Harris (Trinidad and Tobago), Susana Malcorra (Argentina), Vanessa Rubio (Mexico), and Verónica Zubillaga (Venezuela).

About the Inter-American Dialogue

The Inter-American Dialogue engages its network of global leaders to foster democratic governance, prosperity, and social equity in Latin America and the Caribbean. Together, we shape policy debate, generate ideas, devise solutions, and enhance collaboration within the Western Hemisphere.

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Contact: Michael Camilleri
mcamilleri@thedialogue.org
press@thedialogue.org