As a member of the Civil Society Delegation, Caritas Internationalis will participate in the upcoming 14th Summit of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), to be held in Geneva from 23-25 January 2024. This three-day meeting is an opportunity for States and key stakeholders to discuss major migration challenges and priorities for policy ...
A child moving away from home alone to find work or to escape conflict is not a new phenomenon. But the number of lone child migrants and the complex threats they face are increasing.
Caritas is worried on their behalf. They are in great danger, in many cases facing intense psychological pressure to succeed and to provide for their families back home.
Child migrants must navigate an unfamiliar country, language, and culture by themselves. Often they do now know their rights or the true extent of the risk of abduction and abuse which they face. They can be exploited, underpaid and underfed and rarely have a chance to go to school or to play. Organized criminal gangs can menace their lives, and those of their families back home.
Caritas organisations work to make sure these children can get help. They offer safe places to stay, with medical assistance and learning opportunities. They try to reunite children with their families.
Caritas also advocates and campaigns on behalf of child migrants – calling on governments not to detain them as illegal aliens in prison-like conditions intended for the adults they are not. Caritas insists they are treated as children under the law.
@IamCaritas helps migrant children with food, shelter, education, legal help and guidance.
Prayer for Migrant Children
Loving Father, in your infinite compassion, we seek your divine protection for refugee children who are often alone and afraid.
Provide solace to those who have been witnesses to violence and destruction, who have lost parents, family, friends, home, and all they cherish due to war or persecution.
Comfort them in their sorrow, and bring help in their time of need.
For this we pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
© 2009 USCCB, Washington D.C.
Caritas asks governments to protect the rights of child migrants
Caritas Updates on Child Migration
Ahead of the Global Refugee Forum 2023 (13-15 December), Caritas Internationalis – together with partners Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy (FCEI) and the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC Europe) – will hold an event in Geneva on 12 December from 9am-12pm (Rome time) titled Complementary Pathways to Europe: From humanitarian to labour and education ...
Ambika Khanal, a 25-year-old aspiring foreign worker and a single mother of two from Panchapuri-6 in Surkhet district, visited the Korean Agency with hope in her eyes, seeking to fly to Korea. She had already paid her agent Rs. 90,000, trusting that it would secure her a job with a Korean company. However, the agent ...
As part of the inauguration week of the Global Year of Action of the “Together We” campaign, aimed at promoting integral ecology by simultaneously protecting people and our planet, Caritas Internationalis today launched its new publication Displaced by a Changing Climate: Caritas Voices Protecting and Supporting People on the Move. The publication explores the experiences ...
As part of the inauguration of the Global Year of Action of the “Together We” campaign, aimed at promoting integral ecology by simultaneously protecting people and our planet, Caritas Internationalis will launch its publication Displaced by a changing climate, highlighting the vital need for collective action to address the consequences of environmental degradation. Caritas Internationalis, ...
“Free to choose whether to migrate or to stay”. Celebrating the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on 24 September 2023, Caritas Internationalis makes its own the title of Pope Francis’ message for this Day. On the one hand, the right to stay in one’s own country means that social, working and human development ...
Joint statement by Caritas Internationalis, RED CLAMOR and RAEMH on the occasion of the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2023 On 24th September we celebrate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. This year the Holy Father has focused his message on the right of every person to choose whether to migrate or ...
Through their daily work with migrants and refugees in every region of the world, Caritas Internationalis, RED CLAMOR, the RAEMH and our valued partners are making a difference for those vulnerable people on the move, so that they may better choose, for themselves, the path they take in life. In Latin America, Caritas Ecuador and ...
On the occasion of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (July 30), Caritas Internationalis (CI) reaffirms its unwavering commitment to combatting this grave violation of human rights. This year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) calls for global attention on the urgent need for collective action to “reach every victim of ...
Sudan has been embroiled in a devastating armed conflict since last April, triggered by power struggles among the country’s military factions. The fighting, primarily between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has had a profound impact on civilians, resulting in large-scale displacement and shattered access to food, water, health care, fuel, ...
How Caritas works on Migration & Human Trafficking
Caritas addresses the issues around migration directly. It works to advise and protect all migrants – men, women and children – to prevent trafficking and abuse. Caritas advocates for the rights of domestic workers – who are often migrants – and for proper legal protection for all people who move to find work and security. Learn more.