Holy See representative tells UN to protect vulnerable migrants

(Vatican Radio) The First Secretary of the Holy See Mission to the UN in Geneva gave an intervention Tuesday in which he renewed the Holy See’s call for the international community to responsibly and adequately address the ongoing migrant crisis.

The 15 June statement delivered in English by Mons Richard Gyhra to the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva was that of the Vatican’s representative to the UN in Geneva, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič.

Listen to the intervention delivered by Mons Gyhra, courtesy of UN correspondent Christian Peschken:

“These movements are often  the consequence of social and economic inequalities, violent conflicts, natural disasters and  also religious persecutions,” the statement said.

“While  understanding  the  need  for  national  policies  to  address  large  flows  of  migrants  and  refugees,  my  Delegation  wishes  to  note  the repeated  appeals  addressed  by  Pope Francis to world leaders on behalf of so many brothers and sisters who are  forced to  flee in search of a safe and decent life.”

The statement went on to stress that migrants “should not be treated solely as a threat  to national stability and thus left to the exploitation of  unscrupulous  people  or treated as  mere commodities or products, without any real concern for their rights and aspirations.”

“It  is  important  to  overcome  the  negative  ‘push’  factors  of  migration  and  to  implement  an execute  policies  and  projects  which  aim  to  limit  the  adverse  impacts  of  migration and to give special protection to the most vulnerable categories: children, women  and  elderly  persons.”

Click here find below the full statement by Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva.