Holy See welcomes "Zero
Draft" for Global Compact for Migration
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| Afghan refugee children outside their mud house at a refugee camp in Pakistan.- AFP |
The Holy See's Permanent Observer to the United Nations and
Other International Organizations in Geneva has welcomed the "Zero
Draft" for the Global Compact for Migration, underlining the need for
political will and calling for the inclusion of a reference to the spiritual
dimension as one of the basic human rights of migrants.
By Linda Bordoni
The Holy See has welcomed the “Zero Draft” for
the Global Compact for Migration but underlined that political
will is also needed to protect the fundamental rights of all displaced people.
The Global Compact for Migration will be the first,
intergovernmentally negotiated agreement, prepared under the auspices of the
United Nations, to cover all dimensions of international migration in a
holistic and comprehensive manner.
In a statement, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič,
the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the UN and other Organizations in
Geneva, expressed the Vatican’s gratitude to the UNHCR and, in
particular, to the Assistant High Commissioner for his leadership and his
thorough presentation of the Zero Draft.
Global Compact calls for cooperation within the international
community
Referring to the September 2016 New York
Declaration which paved the way to the adoption of the Global Compact on
Refugees and of the one for Safe, Orderly and Regular migration, Jurkovič said
the task envisioned “surpasses the good will of any single country and calls
for flexibility, coherence and cooperation within the international community”.
He described the current one as an historical moment
and as an opportunity to find durable solutions that
respond to the principles of “solidarity and
fraternal compassion by offering a more concerted
and equitable global response”.
Pope's appeal to spare no ambition to set concrete policiies
and measures
Pope Francis, he said, reminds us that “defending the
inalienable rights of refugees, ensuring their fundamental freedoms and
respecting their dignity are duties from which no one can be exempted” and he
urged all players to spare no ambition to set concrete policies and measures.
Jurkovič pointed out that “The Zero Draft
acknowledges the generous and admirable
responses of those local families and communities that,
in spite of their own hardships, have kept their borders and hearts
open to welcome refugees” and said that “these
societies ought to receive tangible and
prompt support from the international community”.
Need for political will
Above all, he called for the commitment of leaders to ensure
that the responsibility to protect is comprehensive enough to embrace the
prevention of forced displacement tragedies.
He said that, in this regard, development
is essential, but it “must go hand in
hand with humanitarian assistance” always bearing in mind that refugees
are children, women and men” who are forced to
migrate and who share a “legitimate desire for knowing and having, but above
all for being more”
Jurkovič said the protection of the
fundamental rights of all people is
the key to changing the situation of refugees and
displaced persons, and he called for the inclusion of a reference
to “the spiritual dimension of refugees and the right
to religious freedom.”
Spiritual dimension to be taken into considertion
He concluded proposing an additional clause that highlights
the need for a holistic service “ rather than a mere list of disjointed best
practices from which to draw here and there, according to national priorities”
and that in all cases the human person remains under the protection of the
principles of humanity and the dictates of the public conscience.
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