A/HRC/41/18 forces. At least 63 individuals (indigenous and non-indigenous) were detained. Detainees were ill-treated. OHCHR is concerned about witness statements suggesting many more people may have been killed. It is also concerned about reports of a possible mass grave, which warrants further investigation. The State has yet to undertake an independent and impartial investigation into the incidents. 67. During these events, military forces took control of the previously indigenouscontrolled airport in the Maurak Pemon community. Maurak and two other communities remain militarized at the time of writing. 68. The events described above forced at least 966 Pemons to flee to Brazil, 47 and most interviewees said they would not return for fear of persecution. The events, and the subsequent displacement, have caused irreparable harm to the Pemon, who have suffered violations of their individual and collective rights, related to their customs, territory and self-determination. B. Migrants and refugees 69. The number of people compelled to leave the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has increased dramatically since 2018 and reached over 4 million as at 6 June 2019.48 Colombia is hosting the highest number of Venezuelan migrants, followed by Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina. 70. Violations of the rights to food and health are the primary drivers of migration. Many seek protection of their right to life with dignity. Other drivers are violence and insecurity, the collapse of basic services, and the deterioration of the education system. For women, additional drivers include the lack of access to prenatal and postnatal care and insufficient protection mechanisms as regards domestic violence. Persecution on political grounds is also forcing many Venezuelans to seek asylum. 49 Children and older persons are often those left behind, with grandmothers assuming caregiver roles. 71. The violations of the economic and social rights that drive migration also affect the conditions in which people leave the country, the way people move and the situations of vulnerability they face during migration. Migrants can already be in precarious health conditions, which worsen when they have difficult access to health care in receiving countries. Moreover, regardless of previous socioeconomic status, migrants usually leave with very little or no savings. Some lack the resources to take any kind of public transportation and have no choice but to walk long distances. These “caminantes” undertake physically gruelling journeys, during which they are exposed to hostile weather conditions and a lack of adequate shelter, food, safe water and sanitation. They also face the risk of armed theft and other abuses. Once abroad, many are under pressure to send food, medicines and money back home. 72. Vulnerable situations generated in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela are compounded by challenges that migrants face in transit and destination countries, such as the lack of regular migration status, inadequate living conditions, labour exploitation, discrimination and xenophobia. These factors of vulnerability, combined with hypersexualized stereotypes, increase migrants’ risk of exposure to trafficking, sexual exploitation and gender-based violence, particularly for women and girl migrants. 73. Venezuelans face obstacles in obtaining or legalizing documentation, which infringe their right to leave their country and the right to an identity. These obstacles also have a negative impact on the right to acquire a nationality and the right to family life and they impede family reunification, regular entry and residence, and the ability to gain access to education, health care and decent work. Migrants who are leaving or re-entering the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela are often victims of extortion and illegal requisitions, 47 48 49 14 Information provided by Foro Penal Venezolano. See https://r4v.info/en/situations/platform. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “Guidance note on international protection considerations for Venezuelans – update I”, May 2019.