26/04/2021
“Making the Mediterranean again a place of peaceful encounters” | A COMECE contribution in view of the upcoming renewal of EU’s partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood (EN)
Category Archives: Migration & Asylum
Migration and asylum are human rights issues. Frequently, individuals and families leave their places of origin or residence seeking an improvement in their living conditions or simply fleeing violence or war.
The current scale of the phenomenon at the EU borders is worrying, as are the tragedies and deaths that result from the desperation of migrants, many of them victims of criminal activities of smugglers and traffickers. Integration of migrants and asylum seekers is also a challenge.
The COMECE Secretariat works for the rights of migrants, refugees and hosting societies to be harmonised and respected in the EU for the sake of the common good in the Christian spirit of welcoming the stranger.
COMECE is assisted in this mission by a Working Group on Migration and Asylum.
Invitation
Join the webinar “Human Dignity and Resilience: Migrants and Hosting Communities”
COMECE is pleased to invite you to participate in the “Human Dignity and Resilience: Migrants and Hosting Communities”, a webinar to be held together with Comunità di Sant’Egidio on Wednesday 17 February 2021, from 16:00 to 17:30 CET. The event is organised in the context of the COMECE’s call to “put Human dignity and Common Good at the centre of the future negotiations of the … Continue reading
News
COMECE meets with EU Commissioner Várhelyi: “the Mediterranean as a place of peaceful encounters”
A COMECE delegation met with Mr. Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, on Monday 18 January 2021, to offer policy recommendations on a people-centred and fair future Southern Partnership. The document presented to the EU Commissioner was elaborated by COMECE in dialogue with local Church authorities. Last year, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Union for the Mediterranean, the EU … Continue reading
Press Release
COMECE assesses the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum: “put Human dignity and Common Good at the centre of the future negotiations”
In view of the International Migrants Day, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) calls upon the EU and its Member States to put the human dignity and the common good at the centre of the future negotiations on the recently proposed EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. The statement, published on Wednesday 16 December 2020, includes policy recommendations elaborated by … Continue reading
Press Release
Statement of the Secretary General of COMECE on the eve of the EU Anti-Trafficking Day
Trafficking in persons and other contemporary forms of enslavement are a worldwide problem that needs to be taken seriously by the international community. It represents one of the most dramatic manifestations of the commercialization of the other, a crime that disfigures both the victims as well as those who carry it out, and a source of shame for humanitythat our authorities and societies must no … Continue reading
NEWS
World Day of Migrants and Refugees – EU Bishops: “Let’s welcome migrants with humanity”
“Let’s welcome migrants with humanity, fraternity and solidarity. Let’s give them a place at our table”, states H. Em. Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, President of COMECE, on the eve of the 106th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which will be celebrated on Sunday 27 September 2020. In the context of the dramatic events occurring in different areas of the world regarding forced movements of … Continue reading
Press Release
EU Pact on Migration: COMECE calls for concrete solidarity and generosity
Following the adoption of the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum proposed by the European Commission on Wednesday 23 September 2020, the Bishops of the European Union encourage the EU and its Member States to act in concrete solidarity and responsibility towards migrants and refugees. Considering the dysfunctionalities of the current migration and asylum systems and the dramatic situations that have recently affected many … Continue reading
NEWS
Moria fires, COMECE urges action to protect asylum seekers
In the context of the tragedy occurred in the Moria camp (Lesvos) on Tuesday 8 September 2020, the Bishops of the European Union urge the EU institutions and all Member States to act more swiftly and firmly to finally make the relocation of asylum seekers from the Greek islands a reality. Card. Hollerich: “we need to enhance the common EU asylum policy”. Approximately 13,000 people, … Continue reading
Press Release
COMECE calls the EU and its Member States for a common response to forced migration
“The pandemic should not be an excuse to let human beings die in the Mediterranean Sea”, states COMECE General Secretary Fr. Barrios Prieto. Referring to the many migrants who were not promptly and safely disembarked at the closest EU port over the last days, COMECE calls for “a predictable solidarity mechanism agreed among EU member states”. COMECE shares the concerns recently expressed by the Maltese … Continue reading
NEWS
Refugees in Europe: human dignity is not in quarantine
COMECE calls EU members states to show generosity in accepting the relocation of asylum seekers from Greek islands, minimising the risk of Covid-19 infection among them and providing adequate health treatment to those already infected. “We are in our homes, afraid. I also think of the most vulnerable: how it must feel for those who are in refugee camps, who have nothing, not even medicine … Continue reading