La Ley Orgánica Sobre Refugiados: su aplicación en la frontera colombo-venezolana

this article examines the 2001 venezuelan organic law on refugees and asylum seekers and its 2003 executive regulations, which establish the inclusion, cessation and exclusion clauses of refugee status in venezuela. it also examines the decision-making body and the domestic procedures for determining refugee status. the objective is to assess the degree of compliance with international standards of refugee protection and their enforcement in the case of civil victims of the colombian armed conflict who have been forced to cross the colombian-venezuelan border seeking international protection, since the increase of violence in the neighboring country in mid-1999. the author concludes that, although venezuela has introduced a comprehensive legislation on refugees during recent years and that the legal instruments are generally in accordance with international standards, their enforcement has been extremely slow and the bulk of refugee applications are still pending. this means that the status and fundamental rights of colombian refugees forced to flee their country because of the armed conflict, are far from being guaranteed in practice.