JORDAN, 7 February 2014 (ICMC) – This week, ICMC Amman successfully completed its EU-funded winterization project in Jordan for Syrian refugees. Despite a country-wide shortage, ICMC identified reliable suppliers that were able to deliver the badly needed heaters and gas cylinders, during one of the coldest winters in many years.
For the second year in a row, with the funding support from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), ICMC was among the very first NGOs in Jordan to complete winterization and successfully provide 825 vulnerable Syrian and Jordanian families with a gas heater, gas cylinder and 11 re-fill vouchers in the chilly wind-swept governorate of Ajloun.Read more<
The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) is an alliance of 81 non-governmental organisations in 37 European countries, protecting and advancing the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons. ECRE promotes the establishment of fair and humane European asylum policies and practices in accordance with international human rights law. ECRE’s work is based on the input from its member organisations that are engaged in a variety of activities ranging from the provision of direct specialist assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in and outside Europe to monitoring, advocacy and public campaigning.
ECRE welcomes this opportunity to contribute to the debate launched by the European Commission on the future of EU home affairs policies and to submit its views on the challenges and priorities to be addressed by the EU in the area of asylum and migration, as the Stockholm Programme is coming to its final stages. The inclusion of the views of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) in this debate is an essential part of developing policies that are evidence-based. Throughout and beyond the EU NGOs play a crucial role as direct service providers to those seeking protection and by doing so are well-placed to identify shortcomings and protection gaps as well as good practices. Moreover, the work of NGOs is supported by the relentless commitment of thousands of volunteers whose daily engagement with asylum seekers and refugees shows that respect for human rights of the most vulnerable is and remains of paramount importance for many EU citizens.Read more<
The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC-Europe) today announces the decision of the European Commission to co-finance the continued expansion of the SHARE Network< during 2014-15.
Since 2007, ICMC Europe has promoted refugee resettlement as a key way in which European countries can provide durable solutions for the world's most vulnerable refugees. With our partners IOM and UNHCR, ICMC developed the European Resettlement Network< to advocate for more resettlement places in Europe and to build European resettlement capacity and expertise.In 2012 ICMC Europe launched the first SHARE project to fully recognize the central role of regional and local authorities and their civil society partners in aiding newly resettled refugees.Read more<
Our organisations represent Churches throughout Europe – Anglican, Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic – as well as Christian agencies and church-related service providers working with and for migrants, refugees, and people seeking asylum. As Christian organisations we are deeply committed to the inviolable dignity of the human person created in the image of God, to the freedom of every human being, as well as to the common good, global solidarity and the promotion of societies that welcome strangers.
In 2014, the EU will have the opportunity and face the challenge of designing the future layout of policies in the area of Freedom, Security and Justice, including asylum and migration policies, in the successor of the Stockholm Programme. In this process, the EU will set the agenda for an area of central importance both for the inner cohesion of the EU and good-neighbourly international relations, in both the short and long term. We very much welcome the opportunity to contribute our views and experiences to the consultation on future orientations in this programmatic area.Read more<
Amman, 20 January 2014 -- Two days ahead of the scheduled Geneva II peace talks, the Syria INGO Regional Forum (SIRF), a coalition of leading global aid agencies responding to the Syria crisis calls on all parties to the conflict to double their efforts to reach a negotiated settlement. “The crisis in Syria will soon be entering its fourth year, and the plight of millions of Syrians must be seen as a catalyst to secure peace. Every day that passes, without a resolution to the conflict, more vulnerable people are pushed deeper into hunger and poverty. We must ensure that these talks result in action to bring an end to the suffering of millions of ordinary Syrians who have lived in misery far too long,” says Rob Drouen, chair of the SIRF board. While peace in Syria is the goal, SIRF calls on all parties to the conflict to halt violence against civilians and enable communities caught up in the fighting to access the humanitarian assistance they so desperately need.Read more<
I am Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Seattle, WA, and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration. I provide this written statement today on behalf of the Committee on Migration to give the Catholic Church’s perspective about the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis.
I would like to thank Chairman Richard Durbin (D-‐IL), Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-‐TX), and subcommittee members for the opportunity to comment on the crisis. A USCCB delegation travelled to the region in October 2012 and completed a report titled, “Mission to the Middle East: Report of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Syrian Refugees” (Catholic Syria Report 2012). While our mission to the region was over a year ago, many of the humanitarian challenges of the conflict—and the suffering of its victims-‐-‐have persisted and increased, without a corresponding humanitarian response from the international community.Read more<
January 5, 2014 (JUBA) - Various religious leaders in South Sudan have expressed deep concerns over the current political and military crisis befalling the country, calling for an urgent end to the violence. South Suda religious leaders pray for a peace ahead of a referendum in 2011 (Michael Wagner/Church of Brethen)
“We the undersigned bishops needed to add our voice and alarm the world that South Sudan is in crisis and needed urgent intervention. We the bishops and clergymen from South Sudan called this urgent meeting under the theme", the group said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Sunday.Read more<
GENEVA, 7 January 2014 – UNICEF, UNHCR, Save the Children, World Vision and other partners today called for governments, aid agencies and members of the public to become champions for the children of Syria and support a "No Lost Generation" strategy to protect a generation of Syrian children from a life of despair, diminished opportunities and broken futures.
Through the US$1 billion strategy, the organizations are focusing donor and public support on critical education and protection programmes to lift Syrian children out of misery, isolation and trauma. The strategy is being publically unveiled one week ahead of a major donor conference in Kuwait for humanitarian aid for Syria.Read more<
GENEVA, December 16 (UNHCR) – Faced with the prospect of a worsening situation inside Syria and growing numbers of refugees in 2014, UN agencies on Monday appealed to donors for US$6.5 billion in funds – the biggest amount so far requested for a single humanitarian emergency.Read more<
GENEVA/STOCKHOLM, Dec 6 2013 (IPS) - The terrible bloodshed in Syria has been going on for over two and a half years. It has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, with more than half of Syria’s pre-war population now needing humanitarian assistance for their survival.Read more<
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