NEW YORK – From May 5 to 8, a delegation from Caritas and allied organizations working on migration issues actively participated in the second International Migration Review Forum (FEMI) at the United Nations headquarters. The Regional Secretariat of Cáritas Latin America and the Caribbean (SELACC), as a member of the Confederation and co-founder of the CLAMOR Network, formed the delegation by its Political Advocacy Coordinator, Damiana Lanusse.

In 2018, the Member States agreed to examine the progress made at the local, national, regional and global levels in the application of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM, for its acronym). in English) within the United Nations framework, through a State-led approach and with the participation of all relevant stakeholders. The second Forum will analyze progress in the implementation of the GCM.

Walking with the "messengers of hope"

One of the milestones of ecclesial participation was the parallel event titled “Walking with the messengers of hope: faith communities respond to the migratory reconfiguration in the Americas”. In this space, Damiana Lanusse intervened on behalf of the CLAMOR Network, highlighting that the Forum must be “the stage to close implementation gaps, and renew commitments towards migration governance that is not only technical, but above all, deeply human.”

Lanusse highlighted that faith communities are not only providers of humanitarian assistance, but also witnesses of the resilience of those who migrate. In his speech, he emphasized:

We are witnesses of their tired faces, but also of their illusions that refuse to die. We stand alongside those who the system often neglects, forgets or simply discards, responding with pastoral action that attempts to mitigate the factors driving forced displacement.

The Political Advocacy Coordinator of the SELACC stressed that "the Catholic Church has historically been a field hospital at each stage of the migratory journey. "We serve the dignity of people regardless of their status, addressing the root causes, and betting on solutions led by the communities themselves."

At the end of her presentation, she invited the different sectors present at the Forum to share the experience lived by the Catholic Church, by its different networks. and communities, in so many territories of Latin America and the Caribbean, in the accompaniment of migrants.

Come and see. Come to our reception centers in the cities and on the borders. Come, listen, and above all, let yourself be moved, in social friendship, from the table of debates and decisions, in the reconfiguration of the comprehensive response that this time. asks.

Cáritas Internationalis positioning: a call for justice

The Confederation of Cáritas Internationalis (CI) presented a key positioning statement for the FEMI negotiations. The document released in English celebrates the framework for a rights-based discourse within the framework of the Global Compact for Migration (GMP), but notes that its progress has stalled. protection standards, including anti-migration agendas (such as the rise of populist policies and the erosion of international legal commitments), as well as the containment and externalization of borders through agreements and forced returns that undermine human dignity. Climate. Under the premise of the encyclical Laudato Si', it is defended that comprehensive development and climate justice are essential for migration to be a free option and not a necessity for survival.

A shared mission

The presence of Cáritas, the CLAMOR Network and allied organizations in this space reaffirms the commitment of the Church to the reception, protection, promotion and integration of migrants, as requested by Pope Francis throughout his pontificate and the recent cries from Pope Leo