THE    MIGRANT    FAMILY                                  18  December: Day for the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and their       Families
	WE MUST DO SOMETHING!               A  CONTINUALLY-EVOLVING SITUATION Migration is a planetary and structural phenomenon. It is the result of unjust development policies at the international level.  200 million people are on the move all over the globe.  120 million are migrant workers and their families.  The number of women who are leaving their country of origin has increased. It is even more difficult for them! • Do we meet these women and these families? • What are their needs and concerns? • What journey of welcome and integration do we make with these families?   A CHALLENGE TO BE MET Jesus tells us that his mission is to proclaim the Good News to the poor (Lk 4:18). By the eight Promises of the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-10), Jesus tells us who are the persons who are called to be happy: ‘Happy are you the poor, the gentle, the afflicted, you who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for the sake of justice.’ By these promises, Jesus annonced a new Project for Society, a project that would welcome the excluded and renew LIFE in its totality: with regard material goods, relations between persons and with God.. It is a mission to be lived out in reciprocity so that all persons may contribute their share to this new Project for Society. • What path of happiness is Jesus calling us to follow? LIVE IN SOLIDARITY WITH  those who leave their native country in search of a better life elsewhere.  those who try to defend human safety by protecting existential liberties: the right to sufficient food, shelter, education and health, and to be able to direct their own lives.  those who work in the line of building up a citizenship marked by solidarity.  ‘The Church encourages the ratification of the international legal instruments that aim to defend the rights of migrants, refugees and their families.’ ...(Benedict XVI, World Day for Migrants and Refugees, 2007) SOME ACTIONS 1. Spread knowledge of the  1990 U.N. CONVENTION  and, in networks with others, promote greater commitment by States to this Convention.  Migrant workers have the fundamental right to live with their family.  Fundamental human rights are extended to all immigrant workers whether they have a legal status or have not yet received it.  This Convention sets out to establish minimal standards of protection for immigrant workers and their families which will be recognised throughout the entire world. 2. In networks with others, participate in actions and petitions directed at national and international politicians for theintroduction of laws in favour of sustainable development and the stability of people in their own countries. Support the requests of farmers and governments for the protection of their Food Sovereignty, that is: Good quality food that is appropriate to the culture, • An income that enables people to live from their farm work, • Access to the means of production : land, water, seeds, credit, technical support, • Protection and regulation of food production and marketing...  Lobby the World Trade Organisation for more just and equitable economic agreements.  Offer alternatives to the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between Europe and countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). These agreements penalise the ACP countries and have a negative impact on the producers, the workers and the economic stability of those countries. 18 DECEMBER , DAY FOR MIGRANT WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES ¡With our solidarity THEY WILL MAKE THEIR VOICE HEARD! International Secretariat Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation JPIC – October 2007