Following a “Walls come down!” rally at the famous Brandenburg Gate, where the Berlin wall was torn down after almost 30 years of keeping people apart, over 250 civil society leaders from around the world—a majority migrants, refugees or the children and grandchildren of migrants and refugees—met during the Civil Society Days of this year’s Global Forum on Migration and Development in Berlin, 28 June – 1 July 2017.
In the busy, lively ICMC Pakistan office, colleagues warmly hail “Dr. Farah” in the common space. Dr. Farah Amjad is one of the two medical officers at the ICMC field office in Islamabad. She is an experienced general practitioner with a warm, gentle demeanor. Before joining ICMC about two years ago, she worked in a government hospital in Islamabad. After a while, Dr. Amjad dreamed of joining a community-based organization to serve the most vulnerable.
The Civil Society Days of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD CSD) came to an end on Saturday 1st July, with a clear message from civil society delegates to governments and the world: we need to focus on the implementation of commitments.
The Holy See along with the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), Caritas Internationalis and the Center for Migration Studies of New York hosted a side event yesterday at the UN headquarters in New York City to further expand upon the commitments made by Member States in the New York Declaration, and in particular to address the drivers of forced migration and the right to remain in one’s homeland.
During the first Thematic Session of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, MADE Network’s Advocacy Officer, Emer Groarke, reiterated the necessity for human rights to be central to the Global Compact process, with a clear focus on the rights of vulnerable migrants in particular.
The Vatican’s newly-established Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, operational as of January 2017, includes a section on Migrants and Refugees, which recently launched a new website available in five languages, to highlight the Church’s efforts to ensure that those forced to flee are not left behind.
The Global Compact defining the future of international migration governance will only be successful if it sets clear goals, targets, and indicators. This is the message which ICMC’s Secretary General, Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo, shared with representatives of governments and United Nations agencies as a high-level panelist during the International Dialogue on Migration, which took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
Parisa* is a 17-year-old girl from Afghanistan, currently living in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Together with her mother and four siblings, she fled her home country at age 15, escaping not only conflict and persecution but also unbearable domestic violence.
The Canadian Government, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) are joining forces to ensure that the world’s most vulnerable refugees can find protection and safety by being resettled to countries willing to welcome them.
Taking the floor at the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on Migrants held during the 34th session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) voiced deep concerns at the worrisome trends of several countries rejecting migrants and refugees and even returning people who seek protection to their home countries.
