By Holy See Mission
Statement byH.E.
Archbishop Celestino MigliorePermanent Observer of the Holy See to the U.NBefore
the Third Committee
On Agenda Item 112: Report
of the UNHCR, Questions Relating to Refugees,Returnees and Displaced Persons and Humanitarian IssuesNew York, 4
November 2003Mr. Chairman,
The Holy See is
daily and acutely aware of the scourges that afflict refugees, displaced
persons, returnees, migrants and stateless persons. It regards their
dignity as
foremost and has made every effort to respond, in cooperation with the
Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other
international
agencies, to the transnational nature of the challenge.
They have always
been the object of concern and deep consideration for the Holy See. Its
cooperation in these matters with the United Nations goes back to the
aftermath
of World War II. In 1951 the Holy See was asked to be a member of the
Advisory
Committee on Refugees. Moreover, through various agencies of the
Catholic
Church, it has accumulated vast experience in working with refugees,
migrants,
internally displaced and stateless persons.
The international
community must make fresh efforts to implement the great humanitarian
ideal
which is at the heart of the UNHCR's mission: the protection of refugees
and the
defense and promotion of their dignity. This emphasis on human dignity,
human
rights and solidarity comes from the natural moral foundation of the
equal
dignity of all.
The protection of
refugees also entails meeting the special needs of refugee women and, in
particular, children. In some places, up to seventy per cent of refugees
are
children, who become refugees at the rate of many thousands per day.
Some of
them have lived their entire life in a refugee camp. In a broader
spectrum, 80
per cent of children living with HIV/AIDS in the world are to be found
in
Africa, the second largest asylum region of the global refugee
population. In
addition, as the report of the UNHCR points out, much remains to be done
in
terms of access of refugee children to education. Only 50 per cent of
refugee
children are enrolled in the four lowest grades and a mere 12 per cent
in the
four highest grades. In fact, providing them with education remains an
essential
means to help avert dangers such as military recruitment, exploitation,
abuse
and trafficking.
To date, the list
of refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced and stateless persons
still
number in the millions. In this regard, it is worrying to note from the
UNHCR
report that some elements of the media and even some political figures
have
continued to portray asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons,
with unfair
suspicion and prejudice. This unfortunate portrayal sometimes
contributes to
make them victims of humiliation, persecution and even violence.
The Holy See,
through the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant People, the
Pontifical
Council Cor Unum, Caritas International and other charitable
agencies, is
doing its share, in cooperation with other agencies, notwithstanding the
enormous amount of work yet to be done. However, greater efforts are
needed to
address the increasing flow of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally
displaced
persons in different parts of the world, often the consequence of
ongoing
conflicts and upheavals, persecution of minorities, denial of human
rights and
uncertainty about the future.
The Holy See
supports UNHCR's operational efforts to protect refugees' human dignity
and to
ensure their basic rights and family reunification.
My delegation
welcomes the UNHCR's 2004 call for effective cooperation in burden
sharing and
the search for durable solutions. We note the advantages of greater
linkage
between the UNHCR and partners within and outside the UN system,
including
collaboration with the UN Development Group and with the informal Geneva
Migration Group.
In this regard,
my delegation also welcomes the initiative of the Population Division of
the
Department of Economic and Social Affairs when it convened the two
Coordination
Meetings on International Migration this year, one last July and the
other in
October. The partnerships and inter-disciplinary information sharing
among these
more than twenty UN programs, agencies and other international
organizations
shall be a useful technical reinforcement for a balanced consultative
process
among the migrants' and refugees' country of origin and destination. My
delegation hopes that it will serve to bridge the gap between
magnanimity on the
one side and preoccupation for national security on the other.
Mr. Chairman,
Throughout
history, migration has always been a phenomenon that leaves a mark on
receiving
countries. While studies demonstrate that individual migrants and their
families
benefit from migration, cooperative migration management, freed from too
nationalistic and mercantilist interests, can be an instrument towards
development. This has been the working conviction of the International
Organization for Migration (IOM).
Besides
acknowledging the connection between migration management and
development, the
Holy See has also the compelling vision and unwavering trust that
migrants
possess innate potentials and capacity to make their own contribution to
society, when they are given a chance to feel their dignity and worth.
We are
encouraged that this vision is also reflected in the latest UNHCR
Report.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
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