{"id":183,"date":"2018-11-23T05:17:17","date_gmt":"2018-11-23T05:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/?p=183"},"modified":"2018-11-23T05:17:17","modified_gmt":"2018-11-23T05:17:17","slug":"statement-on-people-on-the-move-migrants-and-refugees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/?p=183","title":{"rendered":"Statement on people on the move: Migrants and refugees"},"content":{"rendered":"

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a\u00a0stranger and you welcomed me. (Matthew 25:35)<\/em><\/p>\n

As noted by the joint Roman Catholic-WCC Conference on Xenophobia, Racism and Populist Nationalism in the Context of Global Migration (Rome, 18-20 September 2018), migration \u2013 the movement of people \u2013 is an inherent feature of the human condition. It belongs to the whole history of humanity \u2013 past, present and future \u2013 and the entire biblical narrative.<\/p>\n

Today, an estimated 258 million people globally are migrants, i.e. living in a country other than the one of their birth. People move for many different reasons \u2013 for work, study, marriage, or to seek a better life for themselves and their families \u2013 and make valuable contributions both to their host countries and to their countries of origin. But some are forced to flee from conflict, violence and oppression. Of the total estimated 68.5 million people who are presently forcibly displaced from their homes, approximately 25.4 million are refugees, i.e. have fled across an international border \u2013 but the majority of the forcibly displaced remain within the borders of their own country, and of those that do cross an international border approximately 85% remain within their own region.<\/p>\n

In several wealthier countries migration has become a subject of great political contention in\u00a0recent years, even though the vast majority of migrants and especially refugees have been\u00a0hosted in the countries and regions of the Global South. Political figures and parties in several\u00a0countries of the Global North have garnered support by playing upon people\u2019s fears about\u00a0the impact of migrants and refugees on their societies, economies and cultural identities.<\/p>\n

During these very days, we are witnessing threats of deployment of military forces to prevent\u00a0the entry into the United States of America of people fleeing from violence and poverty in\u00a0Central America.<\/p>\n

The response of the international community, both to the recent large population\u00a0movements and to the reactions by destination countries, has been expressed in the 2016\u00a0New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants, and is being further articulated in two Global\u00a0Compacts \u2013 one on Refugees, and one for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration \u2013 to be\u00a0presented to the UN General Assembly in December 2018.<\/p>\n

Many churches in receiving countries have made great efforts to offer welcome and support\u00a0to refugees and migrants, and to counter the atmosphere of fear, exclusion, racism and\u00a0xenophobia that is increasingly prevalent in many of the wealthier destination countries.<\/p>\n

The World Council of Churches has also undertaken great efforts to address this question at\u00a0the international level, including most recently by convening, jointly with the Roman Catholic\u00a0Church, the conference on Xenophobia, Racism and Populist Nationalism in the Context of\u00a0Global Migration (Rome, 18-20 September 2018), closely followed by a Global Forum for Faith\u00a0Action for Children on the Move (Rome, 16-19 October 2018) in which WCC partnered with\u00a0World Vision International and several other leading faith-based organizations.<\/p>\n

This meeting of the WCC executive committee takes place in Uppsala, Sweden, a country\u00a0which \u2013 like Germany \u2013 has become an important destination for refugees and migrants and\u00a0which has offered refuge to many people on the move despite many other European\u00a0countries refusing to share equitably in the responsibility for receiving and managing the\u00a0influx of new arrivals. The Church of Sweden, one of those hosting this meeting, has taken an\u00a0important leadership role in the Swedish context in offering support and hospitality to\u00a0migrants and refugees, and in advocating for the human rights of people on the move.<\/p>\n

The executive committee, meeting in Uppsala, Sweden, 2-8 November 2018:<\/p>\n

Lifts up and affirms<\/strong> the example given to their societies and their governments by the many\u00a0churches that seek to be true servants of Christ by welcoming the stranger, the refugees and\u00a0the migrants, especially in contexts in which refugees and migrants are increasingly\u00a0stigmatized, discriminated against, criminalized, marginalized and completely excluded.<\/p>\n

Acknowledges<\/strong> that many people in countries receiving significant numbers of migrants and\u00a0refugees are genuinely concerned and fearful of the impact on their societies, economies and\u00a0religious and cultural identities, and that national governments have the legitimate\u00a0responsibility to control their borders, to ensure security, and to promote stability and\u00a0prosperity for their citizens.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless stresses<\/strong> as a matter of first principle that all refugees and migrants, regular or\u00a0irregular, are human beings each created in the image of God, children of God, sisters and\u00a0brothers, with equal human dignity and rights regardless of their immigration status. To raise\u00a0national boundaries and the nation state to an order of value above the recognition of the\u00a0image of God in every refugee and migrant is a kind of idolatry.<\/p>\n

Endorses<\/strong> the outcomes of the joint Roman Catholic-WCC Conference on Xenophobia, Racism\u00a0and Populist Nationalism in the Context of Global Migration, and commends them to every\u00a0member church and ecumenical partner.<\/p>\n

Affirms<\/strong> the conference\u2019s declaration that \u201cto refuse to receive and help those in need is\u00a0contrary to the example and calling of Jesus Christ.\u201d God identifies with migrants and\u00a0refugees through the life of Christ and calls us to care for people on the move in vulnerable\u00a0situations, fleeing conflict, violence, persecution, famine and economic hardship.<\/p>\n

Strongly reaffirms<\/strong> support for the institution of asylum, the principle of non-refoulement,\u00a0and the 1951 UN Refugee Convention as essential instruments for the protection of people\u00a0obliged to flee from their homes due to conflict, violence and persecution, as well as\u00a0\u00a0reaffirming the right of refugees to return to their places of origin once the conditions\u00a0enabling them to do so in security and dignity have been established.<\/p>\n

Calls<\/strong> for respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of all people on the move,\u00a0regardless of their status.<\/p>\n

Recalling<\/strong> the WCC Churches\u2019 Commitments to Children, expresses particular concern for the\u00a0situation of children on the move, and in this regard welcomes the Plan for Faith Action for\u00a0Children on the Move issued by the Global Forum held in Rome on 16-19 October 2018 in\u00a0which WCC cooperated with several leading international faith-based organizations.<\/p>\n

Strongly reaffirms<\/strong> the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified\u00a0international treaty, and the principle of acting in the best interests of the child.<\/p>\n

Abhors<\/strong> the practice of separating families and detaining children, simply because they are on\u00a0the move, as invariably incompatible with the best interests of the child, and condemns all such practices.<\/p>\n

Calls<\/strong> upon all members of the international community to join in adopting Global Compacts\u00a0on refugees and for safe, orderly and regular migration that will strengthen, not weaken, the protection of people on the move. In particular, we call for action:<\/p>\n

– For safe, regular and accessible pathways and opportunities for human mobility in\u00a0compliance with international human rights law.<\/p>\n

– To combat xenophobic and racist discourses that seek to exclude, stigmatize and\u00a0criminalize migrants and refugees.<\/p>\n

– For inclusion and integration of migrants and refugees in host countries, and against\u00a0discrimination.<\/p>\n

– For equitable responsibility-sharing for refugees.<\/p>\n

– To end the drivers of forced displacement, and to make migration a matter of choice, not\u00a0of necessity.<\/p>\n

Urges<\/strong> churches and Christians to combine consideration of the Global Compacts and of other\u00a0related statements and commitments, with:<\/p>\n

– learning about the situation of migrants and refugees in their own localities and\u00a0countries, and linking direct support and advocacy in their respective spheres of influence\u00a0with active engagement and accompaniment of migrants and refugees in their midst;<\/p>\n

– encouraging receiving communities to move from welcome and hospitality to inclusion;<\/p>\n

– promoting greater social cohesion \u2013 not only inclusive of migrants and refugees, but also\u00a0of other diverse minority communities and vulnerable groups \u2013 in order to create a\u00a0climate of openness and spirit of solidarity more broadly in society.<\/p>\n

Appeals<\/strong> for increased ecumenical and international solidarity with children, women and men\u00a0on the move, and prays that they may receive a welcome and compassionate care in the countries and communities to which their journeys take them.<\/p>\n

Adopted:
\nWorld Council of Churches
\nEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
\nUppsala, Sweden
\n2-8 November 2018<\/p>\n

Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a\u00a0stranger and you welcomed me. (Matthew 25:35) As noted by the<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":184,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":185,"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions\/185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccphilippines.org\/cwwm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}