ACT Alliance stands in solidarity with its members in Guatemala and with Guatemalan human rights defenders as they stand up, despite threats and attacks, to promote and protect universally recognized human rights.

The serious situation for those who work for human rights in Guatemala was painfully illustrated by the deaths of two human rights defenders in January 2017. John Nduna, General Secretary of the ACT Alliance, said, “ACT Alliance was founded to work towards a world where all people can live with dignity, justice and full respect for human rights and the environment. Threats, intimidation, and violence against people who are peacefully protecting their own and their communities’ rights cannot be allowed.”

The Guatemala ACT Forum has released a statement urging:

1. The Public Prosecutor (MP) and corresponding authorities to investigate the assassination and attacks against human rights defenders in Guatemala, identify the perpetrators and initiate legal proceedings.

2. The Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH) to fulfill its mandate of observing human rights and making recommendations to the Guatemalan state about how to improve the fulfillment of national and international human rights obligations, especially with regards to indigenous peoples and human rights defenders.

3. The Ministry of the Interior to guarantee the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, especially for rural populations and indigenous peoples organizing in favor of their rights to land, water, and self-determination as indigenous peoples.

4. The State of Guatemala to implement the mechanisms established by ILO Convention 169, and other aspects of national and international law that guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples.

5. The international community and the United Nations Human Rights Council to call upon countries with financial investments in the region to monitor and evaluate their actions so that they do not contribute to social conflicts or threats towards human rights defenders who work in favor of social and environmental justice.

6. Churches and faith-based organizations to join in solidarity with the rural and indigenous communities of Guatemala who have mobilized in favor of the environment and human rights.

ACT Alliance is a coalition of 144 affiliated churches and organizations that work together in more than 100 countries to foster and promote a positive, sustainable change in the livelihoods of poor and marginalized people regardless of their religion, political beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, race or nationality and in compliance with the strictest international codes and norms. 

 ACT Alliance and ACT Alliance EU have joined over 70 organisations in expressing their grave concerns about proposed EU cooperation with Libya in an open letter to EU heads of state and EU policymakers. This concern was triggered by the declaration  following the recent European Council meeting on Malta on 3 February, announcing plans to seek closer cooperation with Libya “to ensure effective control of our external border and stem illegal flows into the EU”, and ahead of the upcoming European Council meeting on 9-10 March, which is expected to discuss these plans in more detail.

“The decision to transfer the responsibility for managing migratory movements along the central Mediterranean route to Libya will neither reduce human rights abuses, nor end smuggling. Instead, it will significantly increase harm and suffering,” the letter reads.

It calls upon the EU to ”[f]acilitate safe mobility by opening and strengthening safe and regular channels to Europe for refugees and migrants including through resettlement, humanitarian admission and humanitarian visas, family reunification, worker mobility across skill levels and student visas,” as well as to review the human rights situation in Libya, and to put in place specific measures to protect vulnerable groups in all its approaches to migration management.

Read the announcement here  and the full letter here.

COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE

L’Alliance ACT et le Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE) ont annoncé aujourd’hui conjointement leur intention d’organiser deux rencontres consécutives sur la stratégie de gouvernance à Uppsala, en Suède, à l’automne 2018. L’Assemblée générale d’ACT Alliance aura lieu fin octobre et rassemblera plus de 200 personnes représentant les membres de l’organisation dans le monde entier. Cette réunion a lieu tous les quatre ans. Le Comité exécutif du COE et les membres de l’Assemblée générale d’ACT se retrouveront ensuite le 1^er novembre pour une journée commune d’étude et de travail autour de la notion de diaconie œcuménique et de développement durable, qui sera suivie par la réunion normale du Comité exécutif du COE.

L’Assemblée d’ACT sera accueillie par les membres d’ACT, l’Église de Suède et Diakonia. Le Comité exécutif du COE sera l’hôte de l’Église de Suède, de l’Église unifiante en Suède et du Conseil chrétien d’Églises en Suède.

Commentaires du COE:
«L’idée d’une rencontre conjointe est apparue lors de la consultation internationale sur la relation entre Églises et ministères spécialisés qui s’est tenue au Malawi en septembre 2014 » a déclaré Olav Fykse Tveit, secrétaire général du COE. « L’une des actions particulières présentes dans le rapport portait sur l’amélioration des relations entre Églises et ministère spécialisés ainsi que sur une discussion à propos du rôle de la diaconie.»

«Afin de revenir à nos racines et à nos origines – a-t-il ajouté – regardons à nos modèles. Ainsi, par exemple, l’archevêque suédois Nathan Söderblom qui a participé à la création de ce qui devait devenir le COE. Il a reçu le Prix Nobel de la Paix en 1930 pour ses initiatives transfrontalières.»

Commentaires d’ACT Alliance:
Pour John Nduna, secrétaire général d’ACT Alliance, «la possibilité de se réunir avec le Comité exécutif du COE pour passer une journée à discuter de la diaconie œcuménique, du ministère de service, sera une excellente occasion pour les membres d’ACT Alliance d’approfondir leur réflexion sur leur travail, notamment dans le domaine du développement durable, avec nos collègues du COE. Ce sera une conclusion adéquate à notre Assemblée et, espérons-le, une façon passionnante d’introduire le Comité exécutif du COE.»

Commentaires du côté suédois:
«L’Église de Suède est heureuse d’accueillir l’Assemblée, ce sera l’expression visible de notre engagement vis-à-vis d’ACT Alliance ainsi qu’une façon de partager avec tous ses membres ce qui fait notre contexte», a déclaré Erik Lysén, directeur des affaires internationales de l’Église de Suède.

Selon Bo Forsberg, secrétaire général de Diakonia, «étant donnés les problèmes au niveau mondial, tels que les changements climatiques, l’exode massif et la pauvreté, les Églises et les organisations qui s’occupent de développement doivent de toute nécessité être des voix prophétiques en faveur de la justice dans le monde.»

Le Comité exécutif du COE qui sera organisé consécutivement à l’Assemblée d’ACT sera l’hôte de l’Église de Suède, de l’Église unifiante en Suède et du Conseil chrétien d’Églises en Suède.

2018 verra le 50^ème anniversaire de la 4^ème Assemblée du COE en 1968, à Uppsala, et le 70^èmeanniversaire de la fondation du COE à Amsterdam en 1948. Le fait de réunir l’Assemblée générale d’ACT et le Comité exécutif du COE à Uppsala en 2018 sera l’occasion de se référer à une étape importante du travail du mouvement œcuménique sur justice et paix, travail qui a contribué à donner forme à ce qu’ACT Alliance et le COE sont aujourd’hui et seront à l’avenir.

PRESS RELEASE

ACT Alliance and the World Council of Churches (WCC) jointly announced today that they will hold two strategic governance meetings, back to back, in Uppsala, Sweden in the fall of 2018. The ACT Alliance General Assembly will be held at the end of October, bringing together over 200 people from its membership around the world at its quadrennial meeting. The WCC’s Executive Committee and members of ACT’s General Assembly will then meet together on 1 November for a joint day of learning and work around the concept of ecumenical diaconia and sustainable development, followed by the WCC Executive Committee’s regular meeting.

The ACT Assembly will be hosted jointly by ACT members, the Church of Sweden and Diakonia. The WCC Executive Committee will be hosted by the Church of Sweden, Uniting Church in Sweden and the Christian Council of Churches in Sweden.

Comments from the WCC:
“The idea to have a joint meeting surfaced during the International Consultation on the Relationship between Churches and Specialized Ministries, held in Malawi in September 2014. One of the proposed specific points of action from the report was to contribute to improving the relationship of churches and specialized ministries and discuss the role of diaconia”, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC.

Tveit added, “In order to return to our roots and our origin, we look back at role models. One such role model is the Swedish Archbishop Nathan Söderblom, who helped create what later became the WCC. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930 for his cross-border initiatives.”

Comments from the ACT Alliance:
“Having the opportunity to gather with the Executive Committee of the WCC to spend a day discussing ecumenical diaconia, the ministry of servanthood, will be an excellent opportunity for members of the ACT Alliance to deepen our thinking about our work, particularly in the area of sustainable development, together with our colleagues in the WCC,” said John Nduna, general secretary of the ACT Alliance. “This conversation will be a fitting conclusion to our Assembly and, we trust, an exciting opening to the WCC’s Executive Committee.”

Comments from Sweden:
“The Church of Sweden is happy to host the Assembly as a visible expression of our commitment to the ACT Alliance and as a way of sharing our context with all members of the Alliance,” said Erik Lysén, director, International Affairs, at the Church of Sweden.

“In view of the global challenges, such as climate change, mass exodus and poverty, it is imperative for churches and development organizations to be a prophetic voice for justice in the world,” said Bo Forsberg, general secretary at Diakonia.

The WCC Executive Committee, to be organized back-to-back with the ACT Assembly, will be hosted jointly by the Church of Sweden, the Uniting Church in Sweden and the Christian Council of Churches in Sweden.

The year 2018 will mark the 50th Anniversary of the 4th WCC Assembly in 1968, in Uppsala and the 70^th Anniversary since the WCC was founded 1948 in Amsterdam. Holding the ACT General Assembly and the WCC Executive Committee in Uppsala in 2018 gives an opportunity to connect to an important milestone in the ecumenical movement’s work on justice and peace, which has shaped what the ACT Alliance and the WCC are today, and will be in the future.

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

ACT Alianza y el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) anunciaron hoy de manera conjunta que celebrarán consecutivamente dos reuniones estratégicas de sus órganos rectores en Uppsala (Suecia) en el otoño de 2018. La Asamblea General de ACT Alianza, que tendrá lugar a finales de octubre, reunirá a más de doscientas personas de su membrecía en todo el mundo en su reunión cuatrienal. Después, el Comité Ejecutivo del CMI y miembros de la Asamblea General de ACT se reunirán el 1 de noviembre para compartir un día de aprendizaje y trabajo sobre el concepto de la diaconía ecuménica y el desarrollo sostenible, al que seguirá la reunión habitual del Comité Ejecutivo del CMI.

Miembros de ACT, la Iglesia de Suecia y Diakonia acogerán conjuntamente la Asamblea de ACT. Los anfitriones del Comité Ejecutivo del CMI serán la Iglesia de Suecia, la Iglesia Unida en Suecia y el Consejo Cristiano de Iglesias de Suecia.

Comentarios del CMI:
“La idea de celebrar una reunión conjunta surgió durante la Consulta internacional sobre la relación entre las iglesias y los ministerios especializados que se celebró en Malawi en septiembre de 2014. Una de las medidas específicas propuestas en el informe era contribuir a mejorar la relación de las iglesias y los ministerios especializados y debatir el papel de la diaconía”, dijo el Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, secretario general del CMI.

Tveit añadió: “Con el fin de volver a nuestras raíces y nuestro origen, echamos la vista atrás a los modelos a seguir. Uno de ellos es el arzobispo sueco Nathan Söderblom, que ayudó a crear lo que más tarde se convertiría en el CMI. En 1930 recibió el Premio Nobel de la Paz por sus iniciativas transfronterizas”.

Comentarios de ACT Alianza:
“Tener la oportunidad de reunirse con el Comité Ejecutivo del CMI para pasar un día debatiendo sobre la diaconía ecuménica –el ministerio del servicio– será una excelente oportunidad para que los miembros de ACT Alianza profundicemos en nuestras ideas sobre la labor que realizamos, particularmente en el ámbito del desarrollo sostenible, junto con nuestros colegas del CMI”, dijo John Nduna, secretario general de ACT Alianza. “Esta conversación será una forma adecuada de concluir nuestra Asamblea y confiamos en que también sea un comienzo emocionante para el Comité Ejecutivo del CMI”.

Comentarios desde Suecia:
“La Iglesia de Suecia se congratula de acoger la Asamblea como una expresión visible de nuestro compromiso con ACT Alianza y una manera de compartir nuestro contexto con todos los miembros de la alianza”, dijo Erik Lysén, director de Asuntos Internacionales de la Iglesia de Suecia.

“En vista de los desafíos mundiales, como el cambio climático, el éxodo masivo y la pobreza, es imperativo que las iglesias y las organizaciones de desarrollo sean una voz profética a favor de la justicia en el mundo”, dijo Bo Forsberg, secretario general de Diakonia.

El Comité Ejecutivo del CMI, que se organizará inmediatamente después de la Asamblea de ACT, tendrá como anfitriones a la Iglesia de Suecia, la Iglesia Unida en Suecia y el Consejo Cristiano de Iglesias de Suecia.

En 2018 se cumplirá el 50º aniversario de la IV Asamblea del CMI, que tuvo lugar en 1968 en Uppsala, y el 70º aniversario de la creación del CMI en 1948 en Ámsterdam. Celebrar la Asamblea General de ACT y el Comité Ejecutivo del CMI en Uppsala en 2018 brinda la oportunidad de conectar con un importante hito de la labor del movimiento ecuménico sobre la justicia y la paz que ha determinado lo que ACT Alianza y el CMI son en la actualidad, y lo que serán en el futuro.

PRESS RELEASE

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Governing Board of the ACT Alliance is pleased to announce the appointment of Rudelmar Bueno de Faria as the new General Secretary of ACT Alliance. He will begin his term as General Secretary on 1st June 2017, relocating to Geneva at that time.

Rudelmar brings a wealth of experience to the position, having served for 25 years with the World Council of Churches, Lutheran World Federation and Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil. He currently serves as the WCC’s Representative to the United Nations where he has engaged in advocacy, diplomacy, negotiations and relations with key people in the UN system, Member States, CSOs and ecumenical and interfaith networks. Prior to this position, he spent many years with LWF in a variety of roles in the World Service in Geneva and San Salvador.

“Rudelmar knows ACT well, having previously served on the Executive Committee of the Governing Board,” said Sushant Agrawal, the Moderator of ACT’s Governing Board.  “He brings strong expertise in strategic planning, organizational development, diplomacy, policy development, fundraising and more to the position of General Secretary with ACT.”

Rudelmar will succeed John Nduna, who has served as General Secretary of the ACT Alliance since its founding in 2010.

ACT Alliance is joining with UNICEF and other partners to launch a programme called Refugees Welcome.  This programme is an opportunity for ACT and its members to stand in solidarity with the world’s 65 million displaced persons, over half of whom are children.  Many ACT members have been responding to the needs of refugees for a very long time, and others are just beginning to. As part of a wider and longer-term strategy to seek ways to demonstrate solidarity with refugees, Refugees Welcome  is using Valentine’s Day as a launch moment.

The world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement it has ever seen. For many of us, these statistics remain just that – numbers that we are powerless to change. But together we can welcome refugees – one family at a time – by giving them a place at the table.

The idea is to rebrand Valentine’s Day, from a day of romantic love to one focused on empathy, friendship and inclusion. A concrete way to show love for neighbours and new community members is to invite a refugee family for a meal.  Our Christian heritage demonstrates time and again how sharing a meal is a key to building community.

Adjusting to a new country and lifestyle can be challenging, and many communities are looking for ways to show their support. This simple act of hospitality goes a long way to helping refugees feel welcome in their new homes. Each country has its own history of showing support for refugees, and this initiative hopes to build on efforts that are already underway.

ACT is encouraging its member churches and agencies to join this programme, to invite refugees to share meals in communities around the world.  This simple hospitality is a concrete example that will show louder than words that refugees are welcome.

Through this unifying, unbranded campaign, ACT members can elevate the profile of these welcome dinners, helping to make the connections between refugee and host. To accompany Refugees Welcome, we are finalizing a toolkit to help organizations and influencers with messaging.

In the meantime, we are sharing images and descriptions of the campaign here.

Beginning the week of February 13^th, we are asking participants to do the following:

–        POST: post the Refugees Welcome shareable graphic on your organizational and personal social channels on Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, February 14 to spread awareness of the effort;

–        HOST: ask your networks if they are interested in hosting a Refugees Welcome dinner or organize one yourself;

–        SHARE: upload photos of your dinners onto your organizational and personal social channels with the hashtag #RefugeesWelcome.  Those groups who are aiding refugees in other ways are also encouraged to share these images under the campaign hashtag.

In the coming days, we will share the Refugees Welcome toolkit with you, which contains messaging and information on hosting dinners. And later this week, the website, www.refugeeswelcometodinner.com, will go live.

While this initiative is being launched on Valentine’s Day, it has no expiration date. Sitting down at the table is just the beginning. The idea is for supporters to take concrete action with and on behalf of their new neighbors following the meal, and to establish meaningful connections. The possibilities are endless.

This Valentine’s Day, we hope you’ll help us spread the love.

What will happen in 2017? It is always difficult to predict the future, but I would still like to share some of my hopes and fears. From a climate change perspective, we can expect a lot, both good and bad. The good story is that the global awareness of climate change, and the need for action, has truly taken off. The newsfeeds will continue to tell about concrete initiatives and increased ambition. The bad news is first and foremost, hitting the poor and vulnerable people around the world. Those who already are affected by climate change and who will continue to face climate related hazards throughout the year.

Hurricanes, droughts and flooding

One of the important areas of work for many ACT alliance members is humanitarian response. Through these efforts, we experience the effects of climate change, and we know the need for action. When I look towards 2017 I fear that my humanitarian colleagues will become very busy. There has always been bad weather, but climate change increases both the frequency and strength of many natural disasters. For those people who may be affected, 2017 will become a difficult year. Farmers may lose their crops, families may lose their houses and belongings, and people may die.

In addition, climate politics will also be challenged. The newly elected president of the United States, Donald Trump, has unfortunately not shown a big interest in, nor understanding of,  climate action. On the contrary, he has, already during his first weeks in office, taken several initiatives indicating that he will reduce the climate ambition. While these initiatives in themselves may not be dramatic, the new approach, may inspire climate deniers around the world. This in turn may lead to increased difficulties in climate negotiations on both the national and international levels, delaying and hindering possibilities for progress.

A green wind

However, in spite of these pessimistic predictions, there is still hope. More and more countries are starting to turn plans into real action. Solar farms and wind power plants are being built, and the need and possibilities for adaptation becomes clearer among governments, companies and people. I am confident 2017 will bring a range of good news, best practices, innovative projects and concrete action. These actions must be celebrated, supported and multiplied so that the transition towards a green and resilient future, for both rich and poor people, can unfold.

A technical, but important agenda for climate diplomats

Finally, we should not forget the continuing UN negotiations about climate change. Global challenges must be solved through global cooperation, and diplomats continue to struggle. This year, their agenda includes discussions about how the funds mobilized for climate action should be handled. A technical, but still very important issue as a lack of agreement will lead to inaction. Diplomats will also discuss how to increase the ambition of national climate action. There is agreement about the need to make this happen, but no rules for how it should be done.  It may turn out to be an empty dialogue where parties praise each other, without actually delivering any change.

The incoming presidency for the UN climate talks is Fiji. Fiji is a small, but vocal country in the climate debate. Their entire existence depends on progress in international climate cooperation, and they will take their role as president very seriously. I expect them not only to facilitate the UN talks, but also to push, pull and inspire governments to come to the table, and to deliver action.

2017 will be a challenging year, but with good leadership, and a strong push from civil society, it may become a good year. In ACT alliance we will do everything we can to contribute to a positive development.

___________

Mattias Söderberg, Senior advocacy advisor in DanChurchAid. Was elected co-chair for the ACT Alliance advisory group on climate change advocacy and was the acting head of the ACT delegations to UN climate talks from 2010 to 2015. Was co-chair of the ACT EU climate change working group from 2007 to 2009, and head of the ecumenical COP15 secretariat in 2009. Mattias is originally from Sweden, but live in Denmark.

The refugee crisis in Greece has not ended, we just have forgotten it.

60,000 refugees are trapped in Greece, sometimes in substandard humanitarian conditions. A fact which clearly contrasts with the amount of European assistance pouring into Greece.  ACT Alliance EU has joined with 30 other organisations in asking EU Member States to prioritise the immediate transfer of people from overcrowded sites on the Greek islands to facilities on the mainland that meet European standards for reception. In this blog, ACT Alliance EU’s Agnes Bertrand explores the issue from her own experience and reflection.

I went to Greece before Christmas to visit camps in Athens and Thessaloniki where ACT members are active. The camp conditions are all well below international humanitarian standards. I saw hundreds of people living in conditions unacceptable in Europe and in many other parts of the world -not to mention the harsh winter conditions which have considerably worsened after my visit and put thousands in life-threatening situations.

Malakasa is a former weapons storage center near Athens hosting approximately 800 people who still have very limited access to electricity. Progressively, residents have been removed from tents to be housed in containers that were unused and forgotten after the earthquake of 1999.

In Oinofita (also near Athens), about 680 Afghans of all ages are crowding a former chemical factory living in tents or in improvised rooms measuring 4mx4m. They can access electricity but have no heating systems.

Oreaokastro, a former abandoned tobacco factory hosts 1,100 Syrians under tents without adequate electricity – a few generators try to cope with the heating and hot water needs of the residents, but in effect there is no suitable heating system and irregular access to hot water. Security conditions in this camp are challenging and there are allegations that a small number of occupants are involved in illegal activities.

I was told that reception facilities – i.e. refugee camps, buildings or other accommodation where refugees are housed vary significantly around the country’s 55 sites. On the islands, the overall accommodation capacity of so-called hotspots is set at 7,450. But in reality about 13,000 refugees are living in overcrowded and dangerous conditions there. More are arriving every day.

My visit coincided with the announcement by the European Commission to resume “Dublin transfers” to Greece starting in March 2017 – i.e. the transfer of asylum seekers who have moved on to other countries after being registered to the responsible state to be processed. Dublin transfers to Greece were suspended from the EU’s Dublin Regulation in 2011 after the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice found that the Greek asylum system and reception conditions systematically failed to meet basic human rights standards. It seems absurd to imagine conditions have improved since then.

Has Europe abandoned refugees in Greece?

At first glance, the answer is no, if one takes into account the fact that the EU is providing €1 billion of support to Greece, including  €700 million in humanitarian assistance. Some €198 million has already been disbursed via ECHO, the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.

This total sum is to be spent on a population of around 60 000 refugees currently– girls, boys, women and men who have fled their homes and are seeking a safe future in Europe.

This would be an adequate amount of money, plenty in fact compared to what other refugee-hosting countries get. With this amount of money one would expect the reception conditions for asylum seekers to be good. The contrast in these conditions between ‘traditional’ asylum hosting countries and Greece is stark, and certainly not what one could reasonably expect from a European country.

What went wrong?

On the one hand, this appalling humanitarian situation is the result of the absence of a long-term strategic plan for refugees in Greece which is largely due to the fact that most of the asylum-seekers are not expected to stay in the country. Those who arrived before 22 March 2016 – which was when the EU-Turkey deal was agreed — may be eligible to be relocated to another European country where they can then apply for asylum. In September 2015, the European Council announced it would relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy. The process is complex and a lack of political will within the EU Member States has slowed the desire of Member States to live up to their pledges. Since 2015, only 8,162 ( 6,212 from Greece) have been relocated to other European countries. This situation creates a sense of hopelessness for asylum-seekers due to the indeterminacy of their futures: they simply do not know what will happen to them or when.

On the other hand, nothing is being done to really improve the reception conditions in Greece and for this the responsibility is to be shared between different stakeholders -the Greek authorities principally, who are responsible for the reception conditions awaiting the asylum-seekers. One cause for this is the poor coordination and miscommunication between the Greek Ministry of Migration, the Army and the Air Force, which are mostly responsible for the management of the refugee camps.  The seeming absence of well-functioning working arrangements between Greece and the UNHCR does not set the stage for smooth cooperation. On top of that, ECHO has set up a separate coordination mechanism for its humanitarian partner organisations, duplicating and undermining the UNHCR’s role. In addition, most international and local humanitarian organisations do not have access to a proper registry of the asylum-seekers from the Greek authorities. Although this is for privacy reasons it makes it hard for the organisations to quantify the exact number of refugees actually living in the camps, as well as their needs – especially the most vulnerable– and therefore to provide adequately and appropriately for them. Furthermore, asylum-seekers are also scattered across the country in too many sites, which makes it difficult for NGOs to plan and operate.

What should Europe do?

Europe’s leaders should ensure that asylum-seekers arriving in Europe are treated humanely, responsibly and that their rights are safeguarded. ACT Alliance EU together with 30 other organisations have asked EU Member States to prioritise the immediate transfer of people from overcrowded sites on the Greek islands; to open facilities on the Greek mainland which meet Europe’s legal standards for reception; to enable swift and efficient access to family reunification, relocation and a secure refugee status and to ensure that every person has access to protection and to a fair and efficient asylum process (you can read the full statement here.) This is the least they can do.

The appalling circumstances in which refugees find themselves can be seen for many as a short-term deterrent to refugees who may consider coming to Europe. But it is inhumane. And it is a non-response and a non-policy in the face of the challenges posed by conflicts now raging in Europe’s backyard.

ACT Alliance members Norwegian Church Aid, Finn Church Aid and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe are involved in providing assistance to refugees in Greece in the field of protection, WASH and education.