Geneva, 16–18 December 2019 – During the first Global Refugee Forum, hosted by UNHCR and the Government of Switzerland as a follow-up to the Global Compact on Refugees, Fr. Fabio Baggio C.S., Under-Secretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section, attended a High-level panel on inclusive societies.

Fr. Baggio highlighted  some  best practices of the enormous effort produced by the Catholic Church aiming at caring for asylum seekers and refugees in all continents:

• • In 2017 the Catholic Church in Europe has implemented 8000 different programmes addressing the needs of 1.100.000 migrants, asylum seekers and refugees

• • In the Cox Bazaar camp, the Catholic Church in Bangladesh is catering to 75.000 Rohingya people, offering services to a Muslim population, with a personal engagement of Pope Francis

• • In 2019 more than 2000 refugee children in Jordan have received backpacks and school utilities thanks to a joint programme undertaken by the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation and International Catholic Migration Commission

• • From 2018 ten Bishops Conferences in South America are caring for Venezuelans on the move united in a programme called “Puentes de Solidaridad”

Read the contribution of Fr. Fabio Baggio C.S. here
Read the statement of H.E. Archibishop Ivan Jurkovič, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, here