WCC/UN High Level Conference: Refugee Crisis in Europe

WCC/UN High Level Conference:
Refugee Crisis in Europe
18-19 January 2016 - Ecumenical Centre, Geneva
Photo: Paul Jeffrey
Hosted by the World Council of Churches in partnership with UNICEF, UNFPA and UNHCR
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PROGRAMME
Expected outcomes:
•
Develop clear commitments to coordinated responses in all areas
- from the implementation of migration and integration policies to the
creation of adequate mechanisms for orderly and safe refugee movements across Europe.
•
Address the whole trajectory of the population movements,
from points of origin (root causes), to points of transit, and ultimate destination.
•
Prioritise on the integration of migrants into civil society, religious communities and socio-cultural institutions - people fleeing or
driven from their homes should be able to find belonging and build a
sense of home at point of reception.
Monday 18 January 2016
8.00
Arrival & Registration
8.30
Morning Prayer 9.00
Welcome to the Ecumenical Centre Dr Agnes Abuom, WCC
Central Committee Moderator
(Optional. All Welcome)
Session I:
What is at stake and what can we contribute?
Moderator: Dr Agnes Abuom
Mr Jean Claude Legrand (Regional Office for CEE/CIS Chief of
Child Protection, UNICEF)
Ms Alanna Armitage (Director, UNFPA Liaison Office)
Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit (WCC General Secretary)
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10.00 Keynote:
Dr Thomas de Maizière
Minister of the Interior
Federal Republic of Germany
‘The necessity for cohesive collaboration in the responses to the refugee
crisis and to migration itself.’
10.30 Responders:
Mr Volker Türk, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection
H.E. Ambassador Alexandros Alexandris, Permanent Representative to
the UN
Archbishop Dr Antje Jackelén, Church of Sweden
11.00 Break (Open Press Release)
11.30 Session II: Perspectives on Current Realities
Moderator: Bishop Dr Mary Ann Swenson, WCC Central
Committee Vice-moderator
Overview:
Mr Xavier Creach, UNHCR
At Origin:
Lebanon: Dr Tarek Mitri, American University of Beirut
(root causes and constructive responses to address them for short & long
terms)
At Transit: Greece: H.E. Metropolitan Gabriel of Nea Ionia and Filadelfia
Italy: Dr Paolo Naso, Programme Executive of the Italian
Protestand Federation
(urgent challenges and constructive responses for effective support at transit)
At Reception: Italy: Msgr Marco Gnavi, Community of Sant’Egidio
Norway: Ambassador Knut Vollebaek, Church of Norway
(urgent issues and effective responses in legal recognition and integration)
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1.00
Lunch
2.00
Session III: Discerning Good Practice
Moderator: Ms Liza Barrie, UNICEF
Overview:
Panelists: 3.30 Break
Rev. Martin Junge, Lutheran World Federation, LWF
Mr David Anthony, UNICEF
Mr Christer Lænkholm, ACT Alliance/DanChurchAid
HG Bishop Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox, UK
Ms Doina Bologa, UNFPA Bosnia & Herzegovina 4.00
Session IV: Discerning Ways Forward
Moderator: Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm,
Evangelical Church in Germany
Mr Leonard Doyle, International Organisation for Migration,
IOM
Mr Nicholas Grisewood, International Labour Organization,
ILO
Ms Pauliina Parhiala, ACT Alliance
Mr Stig Lundberg, Church of Sweden
5.00
Presentation: Draft Statement of Call to Coordinated Action
(SCCA)
6.00
Cocktail Reception
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Tuesday 19 January 2016
8.45
Morning Prayer (Optional. All Welcome)
9.00
Session V: Articulating Coordinated Responses re
Countries of Origin
Moderator: Rev. Fr Dr Michel Jalakh, Middle East
Council of Churches
Mr Samer Laham, Middle East Council of Churches, MECC
Dr Enshrah Ahmed, UNFPA Arab States Regional Office
Dr Manuel Carballo, International Centre for Migration, Health
and Development, ICMHD
10.00 Plenary Discussion
10.30 Break
11.00
Session VI: Articulating Coordinated Responses re
Countries of Transit (safe corridors/safe passage are key emphases)
Moderator: Dr Enshrah Ahmed, UNFPA
Mr Dragan Makojevic, Philanthropy-Humanitarian
Organization of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Mr Massimo Gnone, Waldensian Church
Ms Doris Peschke, Churches’ Commission for Migrants
in Europe (CCME)
12.00 Plenary Discussion
1.00
Lunch
2.00
Session VII: Articulating Coordinated Responses re
Countries of Reception
Moderator: Dr Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel,
Bread for the World
Mr Jasvir Singh, Faiths Forum for London, UK 6
Ms Dóra Kanizsai-Nagy, Reformed Church in Hungary Refugee Ministry
H.E. Ambassador Gnesa, Department for Foreign
Affairs, Switzerland
Msgr Robinson Wijeisnghe, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral
Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (PCPCMI)
3.00
Plenary Discussion
3.30
Break
4.00
Session VIII: Statement of Call to Coordinated Action
(SCCA) for a Multi-Stakeholder Response to the European
Refugee Crisis
Joint Moderators:
Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC & Mr Volker Türk,
UNHCR
Drafting Group: Ms Janice Marshall, UNHCR
Dr Wilma Doenens, UNFPA
Mr David Anthony, UNICEF
Dr Fulata Moyo, WCC
Mr Peter Prove, WCC
Mr Isaiah Toroitich, ACT Alliance;
5.15
Closing Remarks [UNICEF, UNFPA, WCC, UNHCR]
5.30
Close
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Extract from concept note
Rationale: In the context of the complex refugee and migrant crisis in
Europe there is a critical and urgent need for coordinated collective
responses. Such responses must be underpinned by universal principles of international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law, and
based on the eight-point agenda for action presented to the UN General
Assembly’s 2013 High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and
Development (A/68/190).
Such a cohesive and holistic approach is absolutely necessary to ensure:
•
efficient migration management vital for the protection of refugees, and for providing safe and legal channels for refugee movements
and support across Europe
•
better cooperation between countries of origin, transit and reception
•
effective mobilization of all available material, human, and moral
resources and values in the civil society and in faith-based communities
to shape life-giving practical responses to the refugee crisis
Indeed, the better coordinated our efforts the better our chances at preserving life, being mindful that women and children are among the most
vulnerable.
Objective: The high level conference is an opportunity for the various
agencies, organisations, and actors, bringing together different humanitarian policy areas on migration and refugee flows, to discern common
actions needed to address the refugee crisis. The outcome of the conference must be an enhanced cooperation across these areas, including the
implementation of migration and integration policies, and the creation
of adequate mechanisms for orderly and safe refugee movements across
Europe. The conference must address the whole trajectory of the population movements, from points of origin (root causes), to points of transit,
and ultimate destination.