“Basic norms put to the test”

Even in Corona times: Vatican urges help for refugees © Emrah Gurel

The Vatican has warned against restrictions on the rights of refugees under the pretext of the Corona crisis. Regrettably, "the pandemic has also become a protection crisis".

The Holy See's representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, addressed the Standing Committee of the UNHCR refugee agency. Border security and the well-being of refugees and asylum seekers should not be seen as mutually exclusive priorities, the diplomat said, according to the speech script circulated Wednesday.

Jurkovic expressed the Holy See's concern that the pandemic had "put to the test basic norms of refugee law". He cited the right to seek asylum and the "crucial principle of non-refoulement.". First concern, he said, must be to protect the fundamental rights and human dignity of displaced persons, regardless of their status.

Sharing responsibility on refugee ie

Vatican diplomat urged international solidarity, multilateralism and shared responsibility on refugee ie. Currently, developing countries bear the brunt of caring for the world's 80 million refugees. All of these are "people with a name, a face, a dramatic personal history and hopes.".

At the same time, Jurkovic expressed the Vatican's refusal to recognize persecution on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity as grounds for flight. There is no "clear and recognized definition of this in international law. Such a citation, he said, is unnecessary and, conversely, only creates the risk of introducing "new forms of discriminatory categories" into society.

Reference to humanitarian corridors

In another contribution, the Vatican advocated for expanded reception options for refugees through third-country solutions. Jurkovic referred to so-called humanitarian corridors, such as those set up by the Vatican and Italy, among others, before the UNHCR. At the same time, he praised efforts to take refugees out of Libyan detention camps and move them to camps in Niger and Rwanda in the speech, also circulated Wednesday.

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Christina Cherry
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