ICMC Releases Its 2016 Annual Report
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.
With staff and programs in almost 50 countries and coordinating a worldwide network of Bishops’ Conferences assisting uprooted people at the grassroots level, ICMC continued in 2016 to offer a wide range of services to the most vulnerable migrants, refugees, and displaced persons. In Syria and Jordan, ICMC provided vital humanitarian assistance in war-ravaged areas; refugees who had been physically and sexually abused received protection and counselling to overcome trauma in Jordan, Pakistan and Malaysia; ICMC also expanded its cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) by deploying its experts to UNHCR’s field offices, where they assessed the eligibility of 145,000 refugees to be permanently resettled to countries willing to accept them.
ICMC’s advocacy efforts included its representation at the Summit on Refugees and Migrants, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, during September 2016, and the coordination of civil society activities revolving around the Global Forum on Migration and Development, held in Bangladesh in December. In Europe, ICMC convened diverse groups of municipal governments, religious leaders, and non-governmental organizations to explore new models of local integration for people seeking asylum in this continent.
“The year 2016 was a challenging one for those of us engaged in service to migrants and refugees”, explains ICMC’s Secretary General, Msgr Robert J. Vitillo. “We defended the rights of all migrants and refugees and have urged governments and civil society to build communities of welcome and protection for people on the move. As Pope Francis reminded us, ‘it is important to view migrants not only on the basis of their status as regular or irregular, but above all as people whose dignity is to be protected and who are capable of contributing to progress and the general welfare’.”
Currently available in English, the report will soon be published in French and Spanish as well. To request a printed copy, kindly contact the ICMC Communications Department at communications@icmc.net.
