Churches, monasteries, temples and mosques are located within, and are part of, local communities and know the situation on the ground far better than most. During the post-election violence in Kenya in 2008, the National Council of Churches was an…
In my view and in the course of my dealings with refugees and migrants of all kinds, faith is a spiritual attitude for reaching the core of the person – as a human being who can be called brother, friend,…
In late 2013 the Australian government launched ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’, ceasing all processing of asylum seekers for resettlement in Australia and controversially using the navy to turn boats back before they enter territorial waters. An aggressive military-themed advertising campaign was…
Caritas Luxembourg is a member of the international network of Caritas Internationalis and inspired by Catholic Social Teaching. The organisation regards itself as non-discriminatory, committed to international humanitarian principles and respectful of culture and custom. The collaboration between Caritas Luxembourg…
The Luxembourg government works closely with civil society organisations and multilateral agencies in order to improve the living conditions of populations affected by natural disasters or conflicts and to prevent and mitigate the effects of humanitarian crises. Neither the religious…
At the end of 1990 the Tamil Tigers expelled all of the Muslim residents from Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Many of those who were now internally displaced went to the Puttalam area on the west coast where Oxfam, a secular…
On 26 June 2007, a ground-breaking partnership was formalised at the Houses of Parliament in London between the UK Islamic NGO Muslim Aid (MA)[1] and the US Christian NGO the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)[2]. The long-term vision for…
Giving refuge, or more specifically, giving sanctuary or church asylum, is a specific form of benevolence that has a centuries-long tradition. What is known in Germany as ‘church asylum’ has mostly been inspired by the American Sanctuary Movement and by…
The term sanctuary connotes the medieval practice where fugitives from justice could take refuge in a church to avoid prosecution. The abolition of this practice in the sixteenth century was largely celebrated as a sign of progress and a triumph…
In parallel with enthusiastically participating in UNHCR’s Dialogue on Faith and Protection in 2012, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) began linking with other faith-based organisations (FBOs) to more deliberately address the divisions and suspicions between religious communities through fostering interfaith…