JOINT STATEMENT OF CARITAS GHANA AND MARSHALLAN RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (MAREDES) TO MARK THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES ON 14TH JANUARY, 2018.

Migration, generally described as human mobility, is one of the world’s oldest phenomena especially as evidenced from Christian scripture. Abraham, our Father in Faith, became a Migrant when he accepted God’s call to leave his homeland to an unknown destination. Mary and Joseph had to migrate in other to save the life of the Infant Jesus, our Saviour. In modern time migration continue to happen at the global level which is largely driven by economic and social pressures; mainly as an escape from poverty and conflicts. In Ghana, both internal and external migration have been characterized by young people as seen in Kayayee (Female Porters) in our cities and those recently rescued from ill-treatment in Libya. Migration has enormous opportunities, especially if well managed. We are fully aware of the challenges and problems associated with irregular migration in our world today. There is little wonder that Governments at national, regional and global levels have come under pressure to respond innovatively and proactively to the phenomenon with policies and programmes. We commend Ghana’s Migration policy and the global efforts under the ambit of the United Nations to establish two new Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees.

The Catholic Church has observed the World Day of Migration since 1914 and especially under the leadership of Pope Francis, has been unrelenting in her stance and support for Migrants. A special unit of Pope Francis’ new Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the Vatican gives focused attention to migration and reports directly to the Pope himself. Pope Francis also personally launched the Caritas Internationalis (CI) Global Campaign on Migration under the theme – SHARE THE JOURNEY in September, 2017. The Pope’s message for the celebration of the 51st World Day of Peace on 1st January, 2018 focused on Migrants – MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES: MEN AND WOMEN IN SEARCH OF PEACE. Pope Francis has set out a four-point action agenda for the cause of Migrants; Welcoming, Protecting, Promoting and Integrating. Welcoming calls for expanding legal mechanisms to facilitate their entry to new territories; Protecting demands our collective responsibility to safeguard their fundamental human rights and dignity; Promoting entails supporting integral human development of Migrants; while Integrating is about allowing Migrants and Refugees to participate fully in the life of the society where they find themselves. Pope Francis’ proposals are a further elucidation of his call for a culture of encounter with Migrants which underpins the Global Campaign – SHARE THE JOURNEY.

In the light of the above, Caritas Ghana and MAREDES call for the following actions:

  1. There is greater need for the public to be more empathetic towards Migrants and Refugees in all their conditions; departing, returning, transit and settlement at their destination. Some recent public statements about the rescued Migrants in Libya were a bit uncharitable and amounted to blaming the victims.
  2. Ghana has developed a national Migration Policy since 2016 which is quite commendable. We wish to exhort our Government to take concrete steps to implement the Policy in earnest. We pledge our commitment to partner Government in this endeavor.
  3. We further call on the Government of Ghana to openly indicate their support for the UN proposed two Compacts on Migration and Refugees which effect is to be determined by the General Assembly in 2018.
  4. We note the commitment of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) to supporting Refugees and Migrants in Ghana over the years. We commit our respective organizations to implementing their policies aimed at ameliorating the plight of the poor and marginalized; especially Migrant Women and Children. In this regard, we encourage our Bishops to urge Parishes to be more supportive of Migrants in their locations.

 

In conclusion, MAREDES and Caritas Ghana, by this joint statement, wish to renew our partnership[3] for the cause of addressing Migration and Development in Ghana.

 

Signed:

  1. Elizabeth Anderson-Yebuah –                 Chairperson (MAREDES)
  2. Samuel Zan Akologo –                 Executive Secretary (Caritas Ghana)
  3. Ambrose Yennah –                 Supreme Knight (Knights of Marshall)

[1] Caritas Ghana is a charity organization of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) and a member of the global Caritas Confederation. Caritas Ghana is devoted to social development, emergency relief and public policy advocacy. (See www.caritas-ghana.org).

[2] MAREDES is the Development Agency of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall – a Catholic Friendly Society in West Africa and the United Kingdom.

[3] MAREDES has collaborated with the National Catholic Secretariat and Caritas Ghana on Migration and Human Trafficking since 2014.

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