New York, July 10, 2018 – Co-facilitators, we thank you for your leadership in getting the Compact to this point.  We offer these comments in the spirit of making the final product even more effective in creating a sustainable framework for migration governance.

First, we encourage you to add “and family unity” to the “right to family life,” as this principle is part of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and, by definition, children are part of families.  Continue reading Statement of Scalabrini International Migration Network – Sixth Round of Negotiations – Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration →

New York, June 26, 2018 – We, the members of the U.S. Catholic Working Group on the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration¹, write to provide our position on several issues debated during the fifth round of negotiations on the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. We consider the positive resolution of these issues vital to the success and integrity of the Compact and to its contribution in improving the situation of the world’s migrants.

First, we urge you to not make distinction between irregular and regular migrants in each objective of the document. All human beings, whether migrating in a regular or irregular manner, possess fundamental human rights that entitle them to certain benefits, including life-sustaining services such as health-care, shelter, food, and education. Also, individuals often go between the two categories, for example, when they are granted a regular migration status through domestic laws, consistent with each nation’s security, such as those promoting family unity, child protection, or refugee protection. Continue reading Statement on the Global Compact on Migration Leading into the Sixth and Final Round By the U.S. Catholic Working Group on Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration →