Member Spotlights: Lublanc Prieto

Interview by Silvia Serna Román

This blog captures the first of the interviews in our new series – Member Spotlights – highlighting the essential work our members do to promote the rights of refugees and migrants across the world. 

Lublanc Prieto is the founder and president of the refugee and woman-led organization Refugiados Unidos, which offers humanitarian and legal aid to forcibly displaced Venezuelans. Refugiados Unidos sits on the Council’s Steering Committee and has been instrumental in the Council’s development. Lublanc was the first Latina woman nominated for the Elevate Prize and a finalist in 2024. 

Silvia Serna conducted the interview with Lublanc and is our regional litigator for Central America & Mexico. To review highlights from the interview, check out our Instagram @global-council or keep reading for the full transcript.

Interview Transcript 

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Lublanc Prieto: Thank you so much. My name is Lublanc Prieto,  I am based in Colombia. I am a national lawyer and I am a human rights defender. I am a refugee and I am one of the 3 female founders of a women and refugee-led organization called Refugiados Unidos.

Could you tell us what inspired you to be a human rights defender and especially to become a defender of refugee rights?

Lublanc: I was inspired at a young age, but also because I went through the experience of having to flee my country of origin. It was a complete change in my life and a time where I experienced what many refugees go through. I had many barriers to accessing my rights, it was difficult for me to get protection. I realized that Colombia was not ready to welcome us and that many of our brothers and sisters would experience the same. Not just people from Venezuela, but also people of other nationalities. That’s when I thought that it was the time to start defending their rights and to change the story in Colombia. That’s when I decided that I wanted to defend human rights, even though I had already been doing so in Venezuela after the mass violation of rights due to the dictatorship in Venezuela. I wanted to call people’s attention to all of the violations happening in Venezuela.

What motivated you to be a part of the Council and what keeps you engaged?

Lublanc: I was motivated by the defence of human rights and because I think that access to justice is the ideal way to achieve changes in public policy and demand rights effectively. Through high-impact strategic litigation together with my foundation team, we discovered the Council where organizations all over the world could take part: both refugee-led organizations as well as other organizations that have experience in defending human rights and strategic litigation. We wanted to come together to advocate all over the world on any issues related to the protection of refugees and access to their rights. I decided that it was the time to become a part of the Council because coming from different countries makes the Council even more special. We can have an impact all over the world and not just in a smaller region.

Could you tell us how the Council has promoted the work of Refugiados Unidos?

Lublanc: It’s been great because we have created a great partnership and great support process. –One of the main types of support has been to make us more visible at an international level in order for us to start processes within the courts in the country but also in the Inter-American Court of Human Rghts and in other international spaces, such as the UNHCR in Geneva and joint working and international roundtables with different regional litigators to combine different processes. For me, the Global Council has supported and been a part of the impact that we want to create through strategic litigation.  We have been able to see positive changes and we have been able to set some precedents for people coming from Venezuela and for other foreigners living in Colombia. Currently, there is a ruling from the Constitutional Court that was the result of the support from different organizations intervening as amicus —including the Global Council  – that helped the court to decide in our favor to change a public policy that was resulting in  people from Venezuela and Colombia having their identity cards canceled.

Could you tell us how the Council has made a difference in the lives of refugees, migrants, displaced people, and asylum seekers?

Lublanc: The Council has achieved great successes when it comes to making a big difference. There is a before and there is an after, thanks to them. Because we are in different regions of the world, we have been able to receive support and make sure that people that had never been visible have access to their rights. Now their cases are being heard. There is more advocacy happening now when it comes to strategic litigation both in Africa and in Central America and Latin America and also in Asia, Europe and Arab countries. This has opened even more doors for us to be able to change the system, both the humanitarian system and the justice system. Especially in terms of  access to refugee rights when there have been positive decisions coming from some courts or tribunals in the countries where we have submitted an amicus or where we have supported with advocacy. We have seen very positive results and that’s the type of transformation that the Council is pursuing so that refugees are in the minds of the decision-makers of these courts and tribunals. 

Could you share with us recent successes with the Council?

Lublanc: Yes, one of the recent moments was when we traveled to Geneva and we took part in a joint strategic litigation roundtable with the Global Council. I was able to take part in this and this was something very significant because we were able to speak about the Global South and our realities. Normally the Global South is not heard in high level spaces and spaces where decisions are made. So, for me, this was a great success and I think this was a very positive move from the Council because this is something that has helped us and opened the doors for the Global South and  South America to be heard, and for us to be able to speak in our own languages and share our realities and our own contexts.

In one word, how would you describe the Council?

Lublanc: Transformation.

Given the recent Venezuelan elections and their outcome, how will [that] affect migrants and displaced people? 

Lublanc: This is news that was very difficult for us because we are seeing how the story is repeating itself, the story that made me flee my country. Seeing people fleeing again is very scary for us all the moment. We’ve opened new offices on the border because we have noticed already that there is an increase in people moving and fleeing Venezuela. Why? Because there is a lot of risk for the people who were involved in the electoral process and the people that supported during the electoral process. People who have protested have been arbitrarily detained. There have been forced disappearances. There is a high risk in Venezuela. That is why today, we are fearful of what might happen and we are now preparing so that we can provide attention to people and make sure that they access their rights. We know that it’s going to be very likely that we will have to do strategic litigation in order to make some changes and I think that the Council is going to be of great support for strategic litigation because we want to be able to show what’s really happening in Venezuela when it comes to the mass violation of human rights.

If you could give one message or give advice to global civil society around the world from your experience defending migrants’ rights, what would that message be?

Lublanc: My message is that we are all human beings and that transformation starts with ourselves. When we  recognize ourselves as equals, and when you have that empathy, you realize no one decides to leave their country unless they truly need to or unless their lives are at risk. When you are able to understand that and civil society knows that we are here to be positive, we can transform together. When we do this in a more united way and if we’re all aware that we’re here to build together, civil society can transform the global system, can help make these processes better, and ensure there is more advocacy for refugees to be a part of decision-making in their countries. When we’re able to accomplish that, the world is going to be a better place. It’s going to be a world where we’ll fit and where we are all able to build together. So, my goal is for civil society to dare to be bold, because they can make history and that’s something that we can do wherever you are. If you are a lawyer, an engineer, builder, whatever you do. If you are able to integrate people and if you’re able to open the doors, we can, together, build a better world for all of us. 

This blog is an unofficial translation from Spanish to English. Check out our Instagram for the interview highlights with Lublanc Prieto. Check back soon for our next member spotlight!