On July 24, Father Michael Czerny, SJ, Undersecretary of the Section for Migrants and Refugees of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and Head of the Delegation of the Holy See to the United Nations’ Fourth Information Thematic Session in preparation for a Global Compact on Migration, gave an intervention during a panel dedicated to the “Contributions of migrants to all dimensions of sustainable development: the linkages between migration and development.”
 
In his statement, Father Czerny noted first that the link between migration and development can be seen in how, when integral development is lacking in their home countries, many feel compelled to flee. That’s why, he said, there is a need to affirm a prior “right to remain” in one’s homeland through ensuring sustainable development and allowing each person to become an active participant in that development. When people do migrate, however, it’s imperative to welcome, protect, promote and integrate them, allowing them to become dignified subjects of their own development and that of the societies that receive them.

His statement can be found here.