Caritas Internationalis says the Austrian decision to pull out of the UN Global Compact on safe, orderly and regular migration risks destabilizing international efforts at providing coordination in protecting the lives of migrants and refugees. It comes after the USA and Hungary pulled out.
The Global Compact on Migration offers a framework to governments to improve their response to the mass movements of people and to reduce the suffering of millions. It is due to be signed at the Intergovernmental Conference in Morocco on the 10 and 11 of December.
It’s a legally non-binding agreement, that respects the sovereignty of states to manage their borders. It acknowledges that migration is a global phenomenon that cannot be handled by a single state alone.
Caritas volunteers welcomed and helped migrants when they arrived in Vienna in 2015.
Welcoming, protecting and integrating migrants
“The Global Compact on Migration represents the policies needed to welcome, protect and integrate migrants,” says Michel Roy, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis. “It is a sign of hope that the international community recognizes human mobility as a feature of our times and wants to make it positive for migrants, countries of origin and countries of destination.
“Caritas witnesses every day the suffering, exploitation and exclusion of migrants. The migration compact strikes a fine balance between upholding their rights and the right of every country to protect its borders.”
Caritas organisations work with and for migrants around they world. They build bridges with the receiving societies in order to support a fair integration which takes into account their needs as well as the needs of migrants.
Find out more about the Caritas Share the Journey campaign with migrants and refugees.