Church Backs Migrants Accord, but with Caution

by Erin Carelse · August 2, 2018

(Photo: Edgar Winkler)

A proposed worldwide agreement on migration has relevance for the positions of the Catholic Church, according to the director of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office.

This month, 180 civil society groups issued a joint statement ahead of the sixth and final round of discussions, due to take place in New York, on the Global Compact for Migration (GCM).

This followed 18 months of negotiations on the need for states to adopt a comprehensive approach to human mobility, and to co-operate.

The Catholic Position

Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) director Fr Peter-John Pearson said the bulk of issues in the statement have a strong resonance with the official Catholic position.

Among the key issues, which the groups asked states to be vigilant about, is to avoid a distinction between “regular” and “irregular” migrants, on the principle that everyone, regardless of status, is entitled to human rights and certain freedoms.

Recently, a group of US bishops said the rights of refugees and migrants were not an issue of political expediency or status, but based on dignity. To introduce a “regular vs irregular” distinction would undermine this principle and also violate international human rights law.

At the UN, the Holy See representative said: “All states have the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of all. While we recognise the sovereign right of states to determine national migration policy and to distinguish between regular and irregular migration status, they must do so in accordance with international law.”

Fr Pearson said the GCM must also explicitly mention the principle of non – refoulement, which prohibits returning a person to a place where their life would be in danger.

The Humanitarian Issue

The revised draft of the GCM currently excludes or heavily qualifies the terms “non – refoulement” and “humanitarian protection”.

Observers say the GCM must address the situation of vulnerable migrants, and victims of natural disasters and climate change, who are not adequately protected in a compact for refugees.

Among other issues, Fr Pearson said, “the GCM must include provisions against the practice of detaining migrant children by explicitly mentioning the availability of non-custodial and community-based alternatives”.

He said the 180 organisations and the Holy See acknowledged the cooperation thus far, and their readiness to continue finding the best possible solutions for states as well as for migrants.