The Revd Glen Ruffle is the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the Anglican Communion, based in Geneva. Ahead of our Lambeth Call series on Human Dignity, he shares his thoughts on the current situation with the world’s migrants and what we as Christians can do to help.
Land is a funny thing. I can take one step, and suddenly I no longer have a full set of legally protected human rights. I cross a border, and suddenly the privileges and protections of law can disappear.
This is the daily experience of migrants across the world. Whether it’s fleeing violence, facing soils that no longer give food, fields that are submerged, or economies that offer no jobs, people often seek a way to survive somewhere else.
Yet when these people migrate, they often find that they are seen as “problems” rather than “potential”. Crossing a border can move them into another world entirely: one in which they have no voice in political systems, no social protections, no laws to protect them, no access to health care, and no way to get employment. They suddenly become prey to criminals, and subjects of narratives that look to blame “the other”.
Very often, churches are the main source of help for these people. Christians hold that every person is marked with the image of God, and every person you meet is someone for whom Jesus Christ died and to whom Jesus offers redemption.
Yet when one of those image-of-God bearers arrives in our country, do we welcome, care for, and honour them? Or do we see them only as problems, drains on our economy, or as a threat?
Undeniably the issues are very complicated, but deep structures of injustice exist which need to be challenged. Right now, for the sake of profit, countries are supporting arms sales and businesses that fuel conflicts and violence.
For example, outside economic demands for raw materials from the Democratic Republic of Congo have led to 30 years of war, leaving generations of traumatised people. With only fear, poverty and violence at home, people will migrate and seek refuge in other countries where they hope to get jobs, stability and rights.
Part of the work the Anglican Communion does at the United Nations is to challenge the deeply ingrained structures of injustice and exploitation at work in the global system.
We inform the UN Human Rights Council of conflicts, the forces driving the conflicts, and the wider effects, pleading with governments to acknowledge the consequences of their actions. We encourage states to care for those who have no voice, like migrants, and to build into their legal systems the fundamental laws that give everyone protection.
We work at the COP climate conferences to make the case for migrants, pointing out that continued pollution only makes more land uninhabitable and causes more people to migrate.
We work with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), building cooperation and passing on information we receive on issues affecting refugees. With Anglican churches across the world (which are often in the most remote locations), we can do so much to help UNHCR reach the most vulnerable people with aid and care.
Church advocacy and migration:
There is so much that churches can do to advocate for the needs of migrants.
- Speak up for integration. Most refugees just want to return home, but that might take time, so ask your country to help them work and contribute to your society. Lobby your politicians to recognise their qualifications and experience.
- Ask your company to open doors to migrant involvement.
- Offer language classes in church – this helps people build relationships.
- Help migrants start small enterprises and network into society.
- Build networks between churches that are helping migrants to encourage each other and share ideas.
Our Christian calling is to be light in society, so let us speak up for the vulnerable and hold power to account, for in doing that, we stand in the place where Jesus is.
For more information about the advocacy work of the Anglican UN team visit the Anglican Communion Office website here.