Two
Uzbek girls, refugees from Afghanistan in the Shamshatoo refugee camp
near Peshawar, Pakistan (October 2001)
A
child whose family was internally displaced takes a bath in a settlement
of displaced families outside Neiva, Colombia (2000)
In
March/April 1999 over 300'000 refugees from Kosovo arrived in Albania
The Council's service to uprooted people is based on the work of local member churches and the Council's ecumenical constituency. It provides an ethics-based global perspective for concerns related to refugees, internally displaced people and international migrants. The programme directions are set by WCC member churches, regional working groups and the Global Ecumenical Network on Uprooted People. The response to the WCC Central Committee's invitation to member churches to mark 1997 Ecumenical Year of Churches in Solidarity with Uprooted People provided a prime example of the broad-based participation of churches around the world.
Since its founding as the Refugee Service in 1946 (preceding formation of the WCC), the programme has been an initiator, a catalyst and a facilitator. It has four main objectives:
The main priority of the programme is to empower the churches to engage in solidarity, advocacy and ministry to and with uprooted people. Capacity-building binds and underpins all activities. During the past half century, the service has evolved a specialized role in advancing both church and civil society responses to the causes and consequences of the forced displacement of people globally.
The programme works actively with counterpart international Christian organizations and related international civil society organizations. It has developed a critical partnership with the main international organizations addressing refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Labour Office (ILO), and the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA).
The WCC has developed a particular credibility in its advocacy and action because its work is based in and on a direct relationship with an engaged, local, national, regional and global constituency. Staff in the programme have specialized knowledge and experience on issues, policy and programmatic services related to refugees, internally displaced people and migrants.
The Diakonia & Solidaraity team's inter-related work programme on uprooted people comprises five areas:
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