Search results

The advocacy statement of ecumenical organisations responding to the new EU Migrant Pact and the situation of migrants and refugees in Europe was received 25 September in the European Commission offices in Brussels. The statement was addressed to Vangelis Demiris, cabinet member of the vice president of the commission Margaritis Schinas, who is coordinating the commission’s work on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, and Dr Torsten Moritz, general secretary of the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe, delivered the statement to Demiris, who is responsible for the dialogue with the churches and faith-based organisations.

A dozen global and regional religious organizations released an advocacy statement on the situation of migrants and refugees in Europe that defines their calling as Christians to “welcome the stranger,” and urges the creation of a world in which “we become human together.”

Christian organizations representing 2 billion people—about one-third of the world's population—have released a statement on the dire situation of migrants and refugees in Europe, and they are demanding a more compassionate approach.

Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece offers reflections from an Orthodox perspective on the current plight of refugees, both in Greece and beyond, and how churches can help with both relief efforts and long-term wellbeing.

The rescue ship Sea-Watch 4, purchased by a crowdfund led by the Evangelical Church in Germany, is ready to start operating in the Mediterranean Sea to help migrants attempting to reach Europe from North Africa.

It’s tough living at home in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic watching those infected with the COVID-19 virus rise in numbers and the death toll climb. But think of the world’s refugees and people on the move.

Church leaders from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark signed a statement demanding that we take “human responsibility” for refugees on the border between Turkey and Greece.

An interreligious conference exploring religion and migration was hosted from 27-30 January in Sweden by Religions for Peace co-president and Church of Sweden Archbishop Dr Antje Jackelén.

A World Council of Churches webinar held on 25 November with the theme “Racism, Xenophobia and discrimination in the Middle-East Context” drew enthusiastic participants from the broader region inhabited by 411 million people.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) joined other organizations in signing a statement delivered to the United Nations Refugee Agency on 7 October that urges immediate action on statelessness.

Citing an “appalling record” of failure to rescue refugees at sea, the Evangelical Church in Germany, along with other faith-based and civil society groups, are calling for better solutions.

The World Council of Churches was among 25 signatories on a statement released by the UN Refugee Agency entitled “Faith Actors call for Global Solidarity.” The statement was released on World Refugee Day, observed on 20 June.

Rev. Luca Maria Negro, president of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy, has been instrumental in founding the Humanitarian Corridors programme, an ecumenical project for safe passages for migrants developed by the federation’s Mediterranean Hope team with the Comunità di Sant’Egidio in 2015. Humanitarian Corridors have since been opened in France, Belgium and Andorra for a total of nearly 3,000 arrivals in Europe.

In a meeting on 12 June in Geneva with World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe general secretary Torsten Moritz, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees Filippo Grandi said the role of churches in Europe is “phenomenal” when it comes to helping refugees.

A special event in London was held to remember the 50 years that have passed since the World Council of Churches Programme to Combat Racism began in May 1969.

The Protestant Church in Germany and Palermo (Italy) Mayor Leoluca Orlando have issued a joint declaration calling for a European distribution mechanism for boat refugees.

Currently there is no Europe-wide distribution mechanism to accommodate refugees rescued in the Mediterranean in the European Union. The declaration calls for a political emergency solution this summer, and urges a group of European Union member states to act as a “coalition of the willing” and develop a sustainable migration policy.

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) was featured in the DW Global Media Forum held 27-28 May in Bonn, Germany. More than 2,000 media professionals, policymakers, and movers from politics and civil society, culture and education, business and science – representing 140 countries – attended the conference.

An international ecumenical consultation held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 20-23 May, gave serious attention to the plight of stateless and trafficked people, and how to better preserve their human rights. The consultation, organized by the Christian Conference of Asia and the World Council of Churches, drew participants from various parts of Asia.

“As Christians, we are called every day to generously practice hospitality”, said Bishop Samuel Aguilar, from the Methodist Church of Peru, as he lamented cases of xenophobia, discrimination and violence suffered by thousands of Venezuelans in different parts of Latin America.

Because faith communities that work closely with the UN children’s agency are deeply involved with young people on the move, they can play a crucial role in applying the global compacts on safe migration and refugees.