Brussels 21 June (SIGNIS)- At his weekly audience on World Refugee Day, June 20th, the Pope urged governments to ensure the right to political asylum, to protect refugees and to guarantee their human rights.
His call was echoed by the International Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, Lluís Magriñà SJ, who went further, issuing a statement headed “ government policies cost refugee lives”. The statement went on to complain that "Increasingly governments are closing their borders, intensifying sea patrols and sending immigration officials to other countries to carry out pre-boarding inspections. Air and sea companies are fined if they transport undocumented migrants. Unable to obtain valid visas and documentation, refugees become victims of border-control policies", JRS.
On World Refugee Day, 20 June, JRS urges governments worldwide to ensure refugees are granted access to and protection in their territories. What is happening now is not only illegal, it is wrong. The message from governments is clear. There is no room for refugees.