Five Quaker organizations recently issued a joint statement on migration. “A Quaker Statement on Migration” draws on foundations the Religious Society of Friends and their work with migrants and on migration.
The statement lays out a Quaker vision for migration justice, “ensuring welcome, inclusion, dignity, shared security, sanctuary, love, and compassion, as needed, because we are all part of the same human family whether we migrate or not.”
It acknowledges that migration is an inherent part of human behavior and enables people to move in safety and dignity.
Migration is an inherent part of human behavior and enables people to move in safety and dignity.
The statement says that the line between chosen and forced migration is frequently blurred by such factors as insecurity, desperation, the search for dignity, and the climate crisis.
“People’s reasons for migrating are often exacerbated by inequalities and by power structures that are built on or have profited from the control of people’s movement,” it adds.
Leading the development of the statement was the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva. It was co-created with the American Friends Service Committee, Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends Committee for National Legislation, and the Quaker Council for European Affairs.
The statement was released on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. Copies may be downloaded from www.fcnl.org/migrationstatement.