The presence of Caritas at the 52nd regular session of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) continues today with the side event “75Years beyond the UDHR Renewing the Global Consensus on the Human Rights of Refugees” co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Nigeria and the Philippines to the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
This event aims to: rekindle the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; renew the global consensus on the importance of promoting and protecting the human rights of refugees; demonstrate a real willingness to uphold international obligations; and to maintain a positive image of refugees.
Oliverio Forti from Caritas Italiana will represent Caritas’ commitment to protect the human rights of refugees inside and outside of Europe, and establishing safer and legal pathways for those needing protection at this side event in Geneva.
Oliviero Forti, Head of the Migration Policy and International Protection Office at Caritas Italiana.
Since 2016, Caritas Italiana has been involved in safe passage operations, helping refugees and vulnerable people including minors, single parents with children, and elderly people. Creating safe passages called “humanitarian corridors” for refugees from Africa, Middle East and Asia has been a complex process, involving several agreements with the Italian government and other civil society organisations.
Forti underlines how a humanitarian corridor is not just an opportunity for a new life for those living in challenging conditions, but it is also a possibility for those who welcome or host these people in need: “This is the real strength of the humanitarian corridors program: supporting refugees through local communities who are the protagonists of the integration process at local level. I’m talking about parishes, organisations, families, municipalities, etc. In this way, we can change the narrative about migrants and refugees in Europe. It is also possible to build a new paradigm: we must not perceive migration and asylum as a challenge, but we must manage it together and turn it into an opportunity”.
Caritas works on helping refugees who arrive in Italy to find a home, provide Italian language lessons as well as job opportunities so as to better integrate in the country. To date, more than 100 refugee students have settled in Italy thanks to this program. This program model, created by Caritas, has also been exported to other EU countries.
For 70 years, Caritas has accompanied migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced along their journey.
Click here to support our work: https://www.caritas.org/donate-now-original/migrants-refugees/