Monthly Archives: June 2023

World Refugee Day 2023 theme ‘Hope away from home’

Today June 20 is World Refugee Day. This year, World Refugee Day focuses on the power of inclusion and solutions for refugees under the theme ‘Hope away from home.’ See

Good Shepherd Mission partners in the new Southern Europe Region with Italy and Malta as the pioneers have been actively engaged in drawing attention to the situation in Europe See They have posted their reflection for the day on their Website and have been engaged over the years in drawing attention to the issues while acting locally, and advocating nationally and internationally.

advocacy-for-migration-italy-maltaDownload

This is also featured on page 4 of Embrace the World April Edition; Spanish; French

Our action at the GSIJP Office is focusing on the situation in Sudan, collaborating with a number of NGOs and publishing a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan and for the safe return of refugees to their homeland.

most-final_statement_refugees_sudanDownload

Tomorrow, June 21 there is a special briefing on the issue where the statement will be distributed.

On 17 December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed the Global Compact on Refugees, after two years of extensive consultations led by UNHCR with Member States, international organizations, refugees, civil society, the private sector, and experts.

global-compact-on-refugeesDownload

Key facts and figures from UNHCR

Filippo Grandi is the 11th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He was first elected by the UN General Assembly on 1 January 2016 for a five-year term. The General Assembly has since twice re-elected him to serve, and he will now complete his term on 31 December 2025. The address of the Filippo Grandi today is from Kenya where there are promising developments afoot. See

“The 2021 Refugee Act and the now aptly renamed Shirika Plan will provide not only an enhanced protection environment for refugees but will also improve the lives of the communities that have hosted them for years, if not decades. And the refugees’ economic inclusion will, in turn, further benefit the local and Kenyan economies, as we see in Kakuma and Kalobeyei in Turkana County, where efforts supported and nurtured by donors, including international financial institutions and the private sector, are bearing fruit. I should say partners, even more than donors. And as we will see surely in Dadaab and Garissa County in the future. We heard the two Governors speak eloquently about this earlier today and we saw it yesterday once again in Turkana County.” See

A quotation from our position paper on migration sums up our Good Shepherd approach Spanish; French

  1. “We embrace our Judeo-Christian spiritual foundation that rests on a commitment to “welcome
    the stranger.” GS’s first response to migrants and refugees is to welcome them as one would
    welcome the Divine among us. We honor the culture and heritage each brings and we celebrate the positive contributions newcomers make to the lives and development of host communities. The service needs of persons in resettlement or status regularization are extensive, including language skills, health care, social integration, trauma healing, employment skills, legal help, etc. We listen to their experiences, accompany them, develop programs and work in partnerships to serve complex needs and to facilitate self-empowered social participation.”

We pay tribute to all in our ministries and projects who respond to the needs of refugees.

The High-Level Forum (HLPF) to review the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is around the corner – July 10 – 19, 2023

You may well ask how are we doing? The answer is in the advanced unedited edition of Progress Towards the Sustainable Development Goals – Towards a Rescue Plan for People and Planet which was launched at the end of April 2023. it is a long document of 43 pages. When the Secretary-General launched the Report he made the following statement – a summary of what is in the document. The answer to the question is not very well!

Some points to consider: This is the halfway point to the 2030 deadline. Half the world has been left behind. Only 12 percent of the Sustainable Development Goal targets are on track, progress on 50 percent is weak and insufficient and more than 30 percent of the SDGs have gone into reverse. The COVID-19 pandemic and the triple crisis of climate, biodiversity, and pollution are having a devastating impact, amplified by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is estimated that only 30 percent of all countries will achieve SDG 1 on poverty by 2030. Hunger has also increased and is back at 2005 levels. Gender equality is some 300 years away.  Just 26 people have the same wealth as half of the world’s population. Our war on nature is accelerating. A financial crisis is looming due to increasing debt levels.

The report outlines the following example of inequality. The International Monetary Fund allocated $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights – the main global mechanism to boost liquidity during COVID-19 crisis. Based on current quotas, the countries of the European Union received a total of 160 billion dollars in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) while African countries with three times the population received 34 billion dollars – and that was money created out of nothing.

The many UN agreements concluded in 2015 – Financing for Development, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the NY Declaration on Migrants and Refugees (2016) all committed to peace and prosperity for all people and the planet. Today the promises are in peril. Why? Chief among them is the blatant inequality, injustice and abuse of power within international relations that run from governments to global institutions, through the international financial architecture, to private banks, credit rating agencies, and an unscrupulous corporate sector.

The 2030 Agenda is an agenda of justice and equality, inclusive, sustainable development, human rights, gender justice, climate justice, and dignity for all. The achievement of this agenda requires fundamental changes to the way power is exercised and the global economy is organized. The SDGs are the path to bridge both economic and geopolitical divides, restore trust and rebuild solidarity.

How can we move from aspiration to action and full implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals between now and 2030? Given adequate resources, strong political will, and determination to implement Human Rights, the paradigm shift could be launched. The proposal of the UN Secretary-General for an SDG stimulus plan calls for additional liquidity, effective debt restructuring, and the expansion of development financing. Let us recall this 75th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the mid-point on the road to 2030 as the year when no one was left behind.