These courses provide due and solid training in asylum issues to members of the National Refugees’ Commission (CNR), security agencies of different levels, immigration authorities, Ombudsman’s Office, judicial agencies and media. These sector face on a daily basis the challenges brought by immigration and asylum and they should be prepared to respond to the continuous demand for attention and provide the timely response Venezuela is obliged to give, as defined on the international commitments it has under International Human Rights Law. All key government institutions are invited to the courses jointly by UNHCR and CNR, which increase their value. 

The activities have resulted in individuals with knowledge on legal instruments for the protection of the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers (national and international laws), as well as on the national protection and assistance system for refugees and asylum-seekers. There was particular emphasis on the obligations by government officials regarding those in need of international protection (non-refoulement, non- sanction for illegal entry, etc.).

The number of referrals to UNHCR has increased, particularly from immigration authorities, every time an asylum-seeker crosses the border or approaches a key control point. The Army and the National Guard have also started to interact more regularly with UNHCR and have also requested training for their units. The knowledge level regarding refugees and international protection has increased amongst those students who attended the courses.  The cooperation between UNHCR and several authorities and institutes dealing with immigration matters has strengthened. Due to the officials’s awareness, the population we work with have benefited from better integration to their communities and from the ability to travel freely since their documentation as well as their situation is better known now. The participants studied the relevant protection instruments (national and international law) for the protection of the human rights of refugees and asylum-seekers as well as the national system for attention and protection of those that fall into these categories (access to services, documentation, resources, etc.) with emphasis in cross subjects such as gender, disability, indigenous communities and HIV. The persecution on the grounds of gender has been widely discussed throughout several modules.

There has been extensive work with the wayuu people regarding women’s rights and their importance in the social structures that are a consequence of displacement. Some of the modules of the course were taught in wayuu, in order to include that group in the discussions regarding roles. Rapprochement between the legal entities competent in cases of gender violence (Public Ministry and Women’s Courts) to government institutions and NGOs. Increase of awareness regarding the situation of refugees and displacement-related Gender-Based Sexual Violence (GBSV) have enhanced and strengthened the protection net. Establishment of the Institutional Safeway for the Attention and Response of GBSV Cases in the state of Zulia. State-wide meeting of the Women’s Municipal Institutes from Zulia that belong to the Committee.