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INFORM-A^CTION

Issue Number 42 - February 2002

Welcoming the Stranger

When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Leviticus 19:33

Come, you that are blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, for I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
Matthew 25:32

The Jewish and Christian traditions hold very strongly to the virtue of hospitality - of welcoming the stranger. This is the context in which Christians can approach the current issue of this nation’s response to asylum seekers. These are people who are displaced from their homelands; people who find that they can no longer call the land of their birth home. They are indeed strangers in our midst. The true Christian response to these people must be that of welcome. This approach of our faith tradition was recently emphasised in the Jubilee Charter of Rights of Displaced People produced by various refugee services for the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in the year of Jubilee 2000. Part of the Charter is outlined below and the full document can be accessed by clicking here.

We present this Jubilee Charter of the Rights of Displaced People, with which, on the basis of our religious faith and our humanitarian principles, their rights are reaffirmed, among which are the following:

the right to not be turned back at the borders of the country where they seek protection and to receive a fair and prompt response to the request to be recognized as refugees and obtain asylum;
the right to be heard by a competent and well disposed authority and not to undergo detention while the request for asylum is being considered and the right of confidentiality of the information supplied;
the right to live in dignity and to receive the help necessary while the asylum application is being considered;
the right to appeal a negative decision on the recognition of refugee status and, during recourse, to reside in the territory of the country of asylum;
the right of the poorest nations - on whom lies the burden for the welcome of most of the world’s refugees - to be supported by wealthier countries in their effort to fulfil the commitments made with their adhesion to the international conventions on refugees;
the right to have a dignified life in the country of asylum for as long as the conditions of insecurity in the country of origin last through active participation in the social and productive life of the host country;
the right to liberty of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to receive an adequate religious assistance from ministers of their own faith;
the right of separated families to know as soon as possible where their lost relatives are and to get into contact with them as well as to be reunited as soon as possible and protected as the fundamental nucleus of society;
the right of refugee women to receive a special attention that guarantees them protection from any form of violence, the protection of motherhood, access to income and whatever else they need in consideration of their vulnerability of role that they play within the family and the community;
the right of minors and the elderly to a special protection that takes account of their situation of greater physical, economic and psychological vulnerability;
the right of refugees to a dignified and secure return to their homeland, together with the commitment of the international community to promote respect for fundamental human rights in their country of origin and the solution of the political, social, religious and environmental questions that impede return;
the right of stateless persons to a homeland and to a rapid and just definition of their situation.

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		INFORM-A^CTION Issue Number 42 - February 2002 *Welcoming the Stranger* When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. Leviticus 19:33 Come, you that are blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, for I was a stranger and you welcomed me. Matthew 25:32 The Jewish and Christian traditions hold very strongly to the virtue of hospitality - of welcoming the stranger. This is the context in which Christians can approach the current issue of this nation’s response to asylum seekers. These are people who are displaced from their homelands; people who find that they can no longer call the land of their birth home. They are indeed strangers in our midst. The true Christian response to these people must be that of welcome. This approach of our faith tradition was recently emphasised in the Jubilee Charter of Rights of Displaced People produced by various refugee services for the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in the year of Jubilee 2000. Part of the Charter is outlined below and the full document can be accessed by clicking here. We present this *Jubilee Charter of the Rights of Displaced People*, with which, on the basis of our religious faith and our humanitarian principles, their rights are reaffirmed, among which are the following: the right to not be turned back at the borders of the country where they seek protection and to receive a fair and prompt response to the request to be recognized as refugees and obtain asylum; the right to be heard by a competent and well disposed authority and not to undergo detention while the request for asylum is being considered and the right of confidentiality of the information supplied; the right to live in dignity and to receive the help necessary while the asylum application is being considered; the right to appeal a negative decision on the recognition of refugee status and, during recourse, to reside in the territory of the country of asylum; the right of the poorest nations - on whom lies the burden for the welcome of most of the world’s refugees - to be supported by wealthier countries in their effort to fulfil the commitments made with their adhesion to the international conventions on refugees; the right to have a dignified life in the country of asylum for as long as the conditions of insecurity in the country of origin last through active participation in the social and productive life of the host country; the right to liberty of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to receive an adequate religious assistance from ministers of their own faith; the right of separated families to know as soon as possible where their lost relatives are and to get into contact with them as well as to be reunited as soon as possible and protected as the fundamental nucleus of society; the right of refugee women to receive a special attention that guarantees them protection from any form of violence, the protection of motherhood, access to income and whatever else they need in consideration of their vulnerability of role that they play within the family and the community; the right of minors and the elderly to a special protection that takes account of their situation of greater physical, economic and psychological vulnerability; the right of refugees to a dignified and secure return to their homeland, together with the commitment of the international community to promote respect for fundamental human rights in their country of origin and the solution of the political, social, religious and environmental questions that impede return; the right of stateless persons to a homeland and to a rapid and just definition of their situation. Next Newsletter Article Newsletter Index