23 March 2016 – The Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), Conference of European Churches (CEC) and World Council of Churches (WCC) sent a letter to member churches and partner organizations in Europe urging them to undertake increased advocacy for more refugee resettlement with their national governments and parliaments in the next weeks.
National governments are currently preparing for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) pledging conference for “pathways of admission for Syrian refugees” on 30 March in Geneva. “We believe that concerted efforts for resettlement in many European countries would have benefits beyond the situation of Syrian refugees alone,” the letter states. “It would hopefully re-open the doors for more safe and legal pathways into Europe in general.”
Leaders from the CCME, CEC, and WCC believe that refugee protection in Europe is predominantly discussed by political actors in the context of curbing irregular access to the territory. “Direct contacts with your government department responsible for asylum and migration would certainly be most effective, but involvement of parliamentarians could also prove useful,” the letter states. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/advocacy-urged-to-increase-refugee-resettlement-to-europe
Read the full letter on Advocacy for refugee resettlement to Europe
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Guardian:Â David Cameron: send more patrol ships to turn refugee boats back to Libya
British PM calls on EU leaders to adopt strategy of early intervention, with focus on putting people smugglers out of business
David Cameron has pressed EU leaders for more international patrol ships to start turning back boats of refugees as soon as they set off on perilous journeys across the Mediterranean from Libya. ….