Statement by the Justice and Peace Commission of the Croatian Conference of Bishops

1. In recent months, we have witnessed the migration of a large number of refugees fleeing from the region of the Middle East, particularly the war and unrest in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of them have also been arriving in the Republic of Croatia these days via the Southeast European route. We consider the situation in the Republic of Croatia, particularly at and along the borders, to be serious. Due to the scale of the refugee crisis and the attitudes of some neighboring countries toward this problem, it is quite certain that in a relatively short time our country will be affected by this humanitarian crisis to an even greater extent.

Unfortunately, there has generally been a dearth of strategic thinking about the real causes of the crisis and how to deal with it at both the national and international levels, although the reception and care of the refugees are primarily the responsibility of the state and government, i.e., the relevant state authorities. As always in the past, in the current humanitarian crisis, as waves of refugees have begun to spill across the Croatian borders, we express our readiness, together with the relevant national authorities, other Churches and religious communities, and domestic and international humanitarian organizations, to help these unfortunate people, who had no choice except to leave their homes and homelands in search of safety and protection.

2. Providing assistance and protection to persons with refugee status is not merely an expression of goodwill by countries but their positive international obligation according to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (and the 1967 Protocol). According to this international convention, “a refugee is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.”

The aid and protection that countries must provide to refugees are not limited to emergency accommodations but must also include all the necessary medical, psychological, legal and other forms of assistance. Since, the majority of the refugees cannot voluntarily return to the unstable conditions in their countries of origin, it is necessary to develop models for their local integration or resettlement in third countries. Moreover, it is also necessary to take the need for the reunification of families into account.

3. Therefore, policies and practices are unacceptable that are contrary to the principles of Christian solidarity, the rigid norms of international law, the spirit of open borders and the bringing together of people in a Europe without borders. This primarily refers to theprohibitions against expelling refugees and returning them to areas where their life or freedom is threatened (the principle of non-refoulement), as well as the collective expulsions of aliens.

We also consider the complete closure of borders and harsh punishment of refugees for illegally crossing state borders to be inappropriate. We believe that such measures, apart from the fact that they are not and will not effectively diminish the flow of refugees toward Europe, are unjust because they focus on the punishment of the innocent and further the activities of organized crime, which under such conditions include human trafficking, as Pope Francis wrote in the encyclical Praise be to You, My Lord (Laudatosi, 197), which lead to suffering and terrible tragedies, even the deaths of refugees, as we have sorrowfully witnessed in recent months and years.

4. Countries certainly have the right to protect their borders as well as the duty to ensure the safety and respect the rights of all persons in the territories under their jurisdiction. However, this must not preclude the fulfillment of the positive obligations to aid and protect persons with refugee status.

With regard to refugees as a particularly vulnerable category of people (due to their unfamiliarity with the language, local customs and culture;poverty, financial emergency etc.), who can easily become victims of human trafficking for exploitation (forced labor, begging, prostitution etc.), it is necessary to improve the system for identifying refugees who cross a national border, asylum seekers, and those who have been guaranteed asylum or subsidiary protection. Gaps and shortcomings in the system will not only mean the violation of the positive obligations of a country to provide protection from slavery but also the denial of the fundamental postulates of humanity and Christian philanthropy, which condemn all subjugation and enslavement of human beings.

5. In the areas of the Middle East threatened and devastated by wars and turmoil, there have been millions of casualties, including many members of national and religious minorities. Among them are a large number of Christians, who are being killed and expelled en masse. We note the constant commitment by the Catholic Church and the Holy Father to the establishment of justice and peace as well as the protection of Christians and the preservation of Christian civilizational values, both in the Middle East, which is rightly considered the “cradle of Christianity,” and in the regions to which our brothers and sisters have fled. However, conditioningthe provision of assistance and protection to refugees on the basis of their religious affiliations not only be would be contrary to the principle of non-discrimination among refugees according to international law but also to the fundamental postulates of Christianity.

6. When it comes to helping people in need, the Holy Scripture leaves no room for various interpretations: “When an alien resides with you in your land, do not mistreat such a one. You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you, too, were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God”(Lev 19:33–34). This is what Jesus Christ clearly taught us when asked: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?” He replied: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me”(cf. Mt 25:37–40).

In this spirit, in the spirit of the repeated public appeals by the Holy Father and in the spirit of the recent Appeal by Religious Leaders in Croatia for Assistance to Refugees, we, too, urge the faithful and other people of goodwill to provide whatever assistance they can by word and deed to the refugees and the institutions caring for them. At the same time, we urge the international community to do whatever is in its power to establish a just peace and improve living conditions in the war-torn regions of Asia and Africa, as well as elsewhere in the world, and thereby eliminate the causes of the refugee crisis. We also appeal to the leadership of the European Union and European countries to demonstrate greatly needed effective solidarity with both the refugees and the countries bearing the burden in the current refugee crisis we are witnessing.

In Zagreb, September 18, 2015
Msgr. Vjekoslav Huzjak, Bishop of Bjelovar-Križevci, President of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Croatian Conference of Bishops