NEW HUMANITY NGO AND MPPU (MOVEMENT FOR POLITICS AND POLICIES FOR UNITY) APPEAL FOR WORTHY AND COURAGEOUS CHOICES

What is happening now at the gates of Europe, on the border between Greece and Turkey, must awaken the collective civil conscience and require institutions to act with greater attention and respect for the dignity and value of each human person, as declared by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which focuses on human rights, the universal and inalienable values ​​of humankind, freedom, equality and solidarity.

The European Coordination office of the Movement for Politics and Policies for Unity, on the basis of the Charter of its values ​​of universal fraternity, defence of the least and search for the common good, stands alongside Institutions that wish to promote these universal values, through a heartfelt culture of fraternal action, so that urgent, worthy and courageous political solutions can be found that offer immediate concrete answers.

The management of migratory flows, however complex, can be addressed and resolved courageously, with lawful and clear agreements, seeking peace. Human dignity can never be traded.

We all know that it is unacceptable and inhuman for migrants to be “offloaded” into the sea, where they may be abandoned and die, or violently rejected along a border. Hence we strongly appeal for the right to asylum for refugees to be restored, a right protected by international law which does not, in any way, contemplate its suspension. Europe’s political response needs complete and permanent structural reform of the agreed policies on asylum and immigration, and a new foreign policy. In this regard, we are willing to make our contribution, in dialogue, to rediscover the meaning of being together.

We know that the “migrants’ issue” has obvious causes in wars, poverty and serious inequalities between the North and South of the globe. The answers are complex and to be agreed in the medium to long term through a peace treaty in Syria, control of flows, investments in the countries of origin, reception and inclusion, adequate distribution in all European countries, and with humane living conditions in temporary places of refuge, in Turkey as well as in Libya.

We believe an immediate response to guarantee protection and assistance for the 5,500 unaccompanied migrant children cannot be delayed. A demonstration of European solidarity should take the form of a voluntary relocation pact, through which unaccompanied minors currently in Greece are transferred to other European countries.

Similarly, the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors for children, women, the elderly and families cannot be delayed, thus implementing an extraordinary and immediate relocation plan for asylum seekers.

Now is the time to courageously take the path of negotiation and agreements, to insist that the ceasefire in Syria be respected and to activate all international humanitarian agencies to bring aid to this fleeing population. Now is the time to stop arms trafficking and increase resources to promote development.

Hence our appeal that, while combating the coronavirus emergency, no one should forget a tragedy that deserves to be addressed and resolved through better and higher quality of international relations and through policies that look to the common good and reconciliation among peoples.

Maria Bencivenni
Movement for Politics and Policies for Unity
European Coordination Office

Marco Desalvo
President – New Humanity NGO