The Commission on Population and Development (CPD46) is
currently underway at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The theme of
this year’s session is ‘New trends in migration: demographic aspects’ The
Commission has been hearing from member states many of whom wish to introduce
anti-life and anti family concepts into a document which is currently under
negotiation, however there are also voices of reason expressing caring and
humanitarian approaches to migration.
Archbishop Chullikatt the Holy See Permanent Representative
to the United Nations made an excellent intervention yesterday Wednesday April
25th. We are including the entire speech below but would like first
to highlight some of the points made by the Archbishop
[…] we cannot fail to recognize the impact that the enactment of draconian population control policies have wreaked on countries whose populations can no longer sustain themselves, nor the destructive impact that the forced promotion of harmful notions, such as reproductive rights, has had on migrant families, trivialising marriage and the family and denying the very right to life for the unborn.Such a promotion of population control as a way to development has also led States to use forced abortion and sterilization as a means for controlling or mitigating the demographic and racial impact of migrants on their countries. States, on the contrary, have the duty to bolster the family, “the fundamental group unit of society”, so as to provide support for the institution where the relations of tomorrow must be cultivated.
The full text of the speech follows
Statement by Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt
Apostolic Nuncio
Permanent
Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
in the Commission
on Population and Development
46th
Session
United
Nations Headquarters, New York, 24 April 2013
Mr. Chairman,
My delegation
congratulates you and the bureau on your election and looks forward to working
with you during this session to address the urgent needs of our fellow brothers
and sisters in situations of insecurity and poverty due to migration.
The globalised economy, by
putting human beings increasingly in contact with each other across borders,
has contributed to creating and strengthening bonds of friendship and
brotherhood within the human family. At the same time, increasing social and
economic inequalities have been a source of division in the world and among our
peoples. Situations of unsustainable socioeconomic insecurity and poverty have
forced more and more individuals, families and entire communities to pursue
their destinies in foreign lands and have driven them to leave their homes and
families in the hopes of a more secure future in different countries and
communities. In addition, millions every year are constrained to abandon their
lands and the lands of their ancestors out of threat of war, humanitarian crisis,
civil unrest and famine in order to survive. “Whether due to a search for better living
conditions or a flight from persecution, war, violence, hunger or natural
disasters, [migration] has
led to an unprecedented mingling of peoples, with new problems and challenges.”[1]
The current state of
migration presents a “social phenomenon of epoch-making proportions”[2]
where families are forcibly divided, children are rendered vulnerable,
labourers face abuse without recourse to remedies, and migrants are
incarcerated without due respect for their human rights and dignity. Women migrants,
in particular, face threats of sexual abuse and trafficking as if they were
mere commodities. Accordingly, my
delegation is pleased that, in his Report,[3]
the Secretary-General has highlighted the need to promote family reunification,
integration of migrants, recognition of the qualifications of skilled migrant
workers, new approaches to assist elderly migrants, cost reductions of sending remittances,
as well as protection of female domestic workers and migrants in irregular
situations, especially women and children vulnerable to sexual and labour
exploitation, abuse and human trafficking.
Solutions to the predicament
that migration provokes for millions of our brothers and sisters ought to be
far-reaching and sustainable if they are not to exacerbate an already tragic
situation for many. Whereas States are possessed of a right to protect the
integrity of their territorial borders, the frank reality of migration necessitates
the measure of this right against the right of all people to migrate and pursue
a standard of life befitting their human dignity. Where this right cannot be
realised, necessity ordains that each one of us would seek it elsewhere and
thus countries of destination have a moral duty to treat each migrant with
respect for their human rights and dignity. Controlling borders therefore
requires treating migrants with justice and mercy rather than as dangerous
criminals or unwanted elements of the society. It also requires extending due
protection of the law and respecting the universal rights of migrants, regardless
of their migratory status, especially their right to life, development,
education, clothing, food, shelter and basic health care.
Mr. Chairman,
A first step towards
solution must be the frank recognition of the presence among us of migrants,
and an acknowledgement of their humanity. It is not a reality that can be washed
away. The presence of migrants among us confronts us with the ancient question,
“Who is my neighbour?”[4],
and invites receiving countries to evaluate their hospitality in terms of their
commitment to brotherhood enshrined in the very first article of the Universal
Declaration of Human rights.
Migrants count among “the simple, the humble, the poor, the
forgotten,” that Pope Francis pleaded for in his recent Palm Sunday Homily[5]:
“those who do not matter in the eyes of the world”. Their human dignity
requires that we accord to them their fundamental rights, including their right
to migrate. Migrants are human persons, fathers and mothers, sons and
daughters, members of the human family, struggling with the challenges we all
face, oftentimes under infinitely harsher circumstances. This should augur for
the establishment of a stronger sense of solidarity between peoples and amongst
nations which requires collaboration between countries of origin and
destination and the adoption of adequate international norms so as to protect
the rights of migrants and members of their families.
Mr. Chairman,
Migrants’ courageous
pursuit of development for the good of their families naturally predisposes
them to serve as an inspiration for their host communities. Their presence,
courage and willingness to work can be a boon for both receiving and sending
economies, and an enrichment of the common good through the cultures and values
they bear. They are a source of immense social and economic potential which
must be nurtured or risk being squandered. The Secretary-General reports an increase by some 60 million of the
number of international migrants during the past 20 years, most of whom migrate from developing to developed
countries – suggesting that migrant families are providing vital human resources
in these rapidly ageing regions of the world where fertility rates are often well
below replacement levels. Thus, migration brings host countries many
benefits – and these ought honestly to be acknowledged and accorded the
appropriate legal recognition.
Ultimately, the only appropriate response to the
ongoing phenomenon of migration must be the development of the sending
countries whose encounter with the globalised economy has not rendered them
able to meet the legitimate aspirations of their people. Development of the
poorer countries is the real and urgent challenge we have as a human family,
calling for our active and concrete engagement. Redoubling border controls or tightening
visa restrictions only serves to bolster migrants’ resolution and risk-taking, aggravating
a sense of civic alienation to the point where it could threaten to undermine
stability and the common good. Such an approach functions to harness a force of
great potential good to precisely the opposite ends.
Further, we cannot
fail to recognize the impact that the enactment of draconian
population control policies have wreaked on countries whose populations can no longer sustain
themselves, nor the destructive impact that the forced promotion of harmful notions,
such as reproductive rights, has had on migrant families, trivialising marriage
and the family and denying the very right to life for the unborn. Such a promotion of population control as a way to development has also
led States to use forced abortion and sterilization as a means for controlling
or mitigating the demographic and racial impact of migrants on their countries.
States, on the contrary, have the duty to bolster the family, “the fundamental
group unit of society”[6],
so as to provide support for the institution where the relations of tomorrow
must be cultivated.
Mr. Chairman
My delegation will
continue to advocate for and provide economic, social, political, cultural,
ethical, and religious resources for migrants regardless of their legal status
and hopes that through this session we may find the political, legal and economic
will necessary to make a lasting difference for those migrants and refugees
longing for a better life.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
[1] Message
for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees: Migration, a Sign of the Times,
2006.
[4] Lk 10:29
[5] Homily for
Palm Sunday, 24 March 2013.
[6] Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, article 16.
