Throughout 2016, ICMC offered health assistance to 24,000 displaced people in war-torn Syria, supported 9,570 refugees in their resettlement process to the United States, and coordinated the advocacy activities of civil society organizations all around the globe. These are just some of the many achievements presented in ICMC’s latest annual report, published today and already available for download on the website.
On International Migrants Day, we recall both the challenges faced my migrants as they move from their home territories to other places in their own countries or elsewhere in the world. We also should be mindful of the contributions which migrants bring to their places where they migrate – strengthening the labor force, mutually exchanging cultural traditions, cuisine, and values with their hosts, and contributing to the overall common good among the whole human family.
During the side event recently co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the UN with ICMC and Caritas Internationalis at the margins of the UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants, H.E. Pietro Cardinal Parolin delivered a keynote speech praising the special attention given to the needs of migrants and refugees by faith-based organizations.
Jason Bell is a child protection expert working within the framework of the ICMC-UNHCR Resettlement Deployment Scheme. Originally from the United States, Jason has been working with refugees since 2003, in reception facilities in the United States, as well as in Malawi and Kenya. Jason has joined ICMC as a Best Interest Determination Specialist in 2011. He is currently based in the UNHCR sub-office in Shire, Ethiopia.
