Fr. Florenzo Rigoni, director of a Scalabrinian Shelter in Mexico and representative of SIMN in Mexico will be speaking on Monday, September 19, 2016, in Conference Room 11 of the United Nations Headquarters, The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, together with the International Catholic Migration Commission and Caritas Internationalis, is sponsoring a  High-Level Side Event entitled “Responsibility and Solution Sharing: The Role of Religious Organizations in Responding to Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.”

Purpose and Outcome:

In the search for “do-able” solutions in response to large movements of migrants and refugees, the international community would do well to note the key role of religious leaders and faith-based organizations engaged in the mobilization of local communities to serve as first responders, and to shape welcoming, just, and inclusive responses at the local, national, and regional levels. In resettlement programs, faith-inspired groups accompany, orient, and provide a range of fundamental health-related, social, economic, and pastoral support.  Yet the religious sector often is not present at the tables of policy- and other decision-making. Their inclusion could open new and urgently needed doors to move beyond “burden sharing” to “responsibility sharing” and finally to “solution sharing”. In this event, they will present what religious leaders and faith-based organizations already are doing in response to massive movements of migrants and refugees and what the international community can learn for these efficient and effective initiatives.