The Global Ignatian Advocacy Network (GIAN) has issued a call to “all Jesuits, Jesuit works, and our broader Ignatian family to expand our advocacy efforts on behalf of our migrant brothers and sisters”.
The invitation came after the GIAN meeting on migration in Washington, DC from 3 to 7 February. “As GIAN Migration, our aim for the next few years will be to focus on promoting a culture of hospitality worldwide where vulnerable migrants who are forced to flee from their homes are welcomed, promoted, protected, and integrated into our respective societies,” they said in a statement released after their meeting.
The participants underwent a process of discernment to identify and prioritise common elements that define their work. They identified these as the increasing vulnerability of migrants in the origin, transit, and receiving countries; the new dynamics of migration such as caravans; the increase in the flows of vulnerable groups, including unaccompanied minors, families and women; the criminalisation of migrants and their defendants in several parts of the world; and increasingly restrictive public policies that violate the rights of migrants.
The network acknowledged that a comprehensive approach is needed to tap into the opportunities of migration, but also to address the risks and challenges faced by migrants in their countries of origin, transit, and destination. As a response, GIAN proposed actions that the network, which has members across the different Jesuit conferences, can take as one body working on a common mission.
“Our Ignatian tradition, rooted in a lived spiritually, provides a solid reference point to developing a holistic approach where one step leads to the next: accompany, serve, analyse, raise awareness, and advocate. The accompaniment and service we provide on behalf of vulnerable people inform our research and advocacy work. As part of the call within the Society’s Universal Apostolic Preferences to walk with marginalised and vulnerable migrants, we must work to reform the social and political systems that lead to injustice. Advocating for just policies is an integral component of living out a faith that does justice,” the statement said.
The Global Ignatian Advocacy Network is a network of networks centred on five areas – Ecology, Right to Education, Management of Natural Resources and Minerals, Migration, and Peace and Human Rights. GIAN Migration seeks to understand and address the issue of migration through research, advocacy, sharing of best practices, and promotion of efforts linked to the Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees.
Read GIAN Migration’s full statement here.