ACT Alliance EU urges the informal Justice and Home Affairs Council to end the search and rescue crisis
On the occasion of the forthcoming informal meeting of Ministers of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union, which will take place in Helsinki from 18.7.2019 – 19.7.2019, all Protestant development and humanitarian organizations that are members of ACT Alliance EU, as well as the member organizations of the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC), which brings together the Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches of Europe, jointly addressed the ministers, parliamentarians and the EU Commission in an urgent appeal. “The fact that these three major European church alliances, for the first time, express themselves together because they see” the fundamental European values and the primacy of human life at risk from political considerations, is a very strong signal to the EU and its member churches, “says the president of Bread for the World, Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel, who is also the chair of the ACT Alliance EU. “These three major European organizations of churches and their works call for an end to the criminalization of non-governmental organizations that rescue people from distress and a renewed EU rescue mission. We also want an immediate EU emergency plan for boat refugees, as well as the cessation of cooperation with Libya and other third countries where human rights are systematically violated. “Without extended resettlement programs and regular pathways, deaths in the Mediterranean will not end. “We see the EU as responsible for promoting, respecting and protecting the sanctity, dignity and the right to life of all people, especially in the dramatic circumstances faced by refugees and migrants!” Says the ACT Alliance EU Chairman, Füllkrug-Weitzel.