The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) is an international organization that serves and protects uprooted people, including migrants, refugees, and

internally displaced people An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. ...

, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationality. With staff and programs in over 40 countries, ICMC advocates for sustainable solutions and rights-based policies directly and through a worldwide network of 132 member organizations. ICMC's expertise and core programming consists of refugee resettlement, humanitarian assistance and prevention (shelter, health, non-food items, cash assistance,

disaster risk reduction Disaster risk reduction (DRR) sometimes called disaster risk management (DRM) is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. It aims to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities to disaster as well as dealing w ...

, assistance and prevention for victims of sexual and

gender-based violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence includes any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification. Types of gender-related violence include: * Violence against women (sometimes referred to simply a ...

, anti-trafficking), advocacy on migration and development. ICMC has

ECOSOC The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

consultative status since 1952 and was granted public juridical status by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

in 2008. In 2011, ICMC has been selected as the coordinator of the Civil Society network of the Global Forum on Development and Migration, which in 2015 brought together over 500 government delegates from more than 140 countries, 300 leaders of

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.UN and international agencies to discuss the relation between migration and development, share experiences and forge practical cooperation.

Early years

The founding of ICMC followed the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and the great displacement of peoples caused by the international conflict. By 1949, in Eastern Europe thousands were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in the Western countries: it soon became clear to the Holy See in Rome that a systematic effort was needed on the part of Catholic organizations to respond to the needs of these migrants. In 1951, German, Italian, and American laity and clergy – most notably Pope Pius XII, the Secretary of State Archbishop Giovanni Battista Montini (the future

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

), Mr. James J. Norris and Cardinal

Josef Frings Josef Richard Frings (6 February 1887 – 17 December 1978), was a German Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Cologne from 1942 to 1969. Considered a significant figure in Catholic resistance to Nazism, he was elevated to th ...

– initiated the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC). The following year, Pope Pius XII formally established ICMC through a papal letter,

Exsul Familia ''Exsul familia nazarethana'' (On spiritual care to migrants) is the apostolic constitution written by Pope Pius XII on the topic of human migration, migration. It was released on 1 August 1952. The title of the document refers to the Holy Famil ...

, which brought worldwide attention towards the needs of migrants and invoked the support of the Catholics to welcome and assist foreign nationals fleeing their home countries. In its early years, the work of ICMC focused on the administration of migrant travel loan funds. ICMC soon gained comprehensive expertise in assisting the migrants and increased its network of member organizations and local partners, thus becoming a worldwide movement.

1960s and 1970s

ICMC kept growing in the 1960s, expanding its activities through offices in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, Colombia,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. By the early 1970s, the migration phenomenon had become more complex and international: the end of the

war in Vietnam The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, the attempted genocide in Cambodia and violent events elsewhere caused massive and unprecedented migration flows. ICMC continued to assist European refugees relocate in new countries, while also starting new programs in South and Southeast Asia, the Near East, Africa and Latin America. In 1979, while thousands of "

boat people Vietnamese boat people ( vi, Thuyền nhân Việt Nam), also known simply as boat people, refers to the refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its h ...

" fleeing Vietnam were perishing at sea, ICMC played a key role in the

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...

Orderly Departure Program (ODP), while also providing legal and safe means of emigration for those Vietnamese migrants (mainly through resettlement in the United States). In 1975, James Norris – one of the ICMC founders, who had by then been President of the organization for over 20 years – won the UNHCR

Nansen Refugee Award The Nansen Refugee Award is awarded annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced, or stateless people. Th ...

. the highest UNHCR recognition for "extraordinary service to the forcibly displaced".

1980s and 1990s

ICMC continued its operations in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

during the 1980s, assisting Eastern European refugees resettle in Western countries. In the 1990s, ICMC played a lead role during the war in Yugoslavia: the ICMC office in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

(

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

), opened in 1993, processed thousands of resettlement applications – mainly by

Bosnian Muslims The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...

seeking support to emigrate towards the United States. In 1997, ICMC initiated three

micro-credit :''This article is specific to small loans, often provided in a pooled manner. For direct payments to individuals for specific projects, see Micropatronage. For financial services to the poor, see Microfinance. For small payments, see Micropaym ...

institutions (in Serbia-Montenegro and

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

) providing business loans, training and counselling to the uprooted people wishing to start a new life after the conflict. In 1998, ICMC initiated a close partnership with UNHCR through the ICMC-UNHCR Resettlement Deployment Scheme, a roster of skilled resettlement experts, managed by ICMC, who play a key role in identifying and assessing the eligibility for resettlement of the most vulnerable refugees. In 2015, the Scheme deployed a total of 189 experts to 78 UNHCR field offices in 39 countries; ICMC deployees submitted 33,656 Syrian refugees for resettlement. In the late 1990s, ICMC started a closer collaboration with African organizations (including the

Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

and Caritas Congo), thanks to which new programs begun in Guinea and Burundi. ICMC was also present in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...

in 1999, when severe turmoil followed its declaration of independence from Indonesia.

From the 2000s to nowadays

2001 saw the beginning of

war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

. With large numbers of Afghan refugees soon able to return home after many years in neighboring countries, ICMC took immediate action and started in Afghanistan its largest-ever operation assistance: over 70,000 people returning from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

were sheltered in camps. In 2004, when the

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

hit the Indonesian coasts, ICMC rushed to respond to what was to become one of the worst natural disasters in recent history. ICMC was already present in the Aceh region at the time and was therefore able to respond immediately to the devastation caused. Political instability in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

since the beginning of 2011 – notably the Syrian civil war – has caused mass displacements in the region. ICMC, active in the Greater Damascus area since 2006, started a number of projects focusing on Iraqi refugees settled in Syria, displaced people fleeing the conflict into

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

and vulnerable people within the host Jordanian communities. The projects are implemented with the collaboration of ICMC's long-term local partner,

Terre des Hommes Terre des hommes, also Terre des Hommes (''Land of People'' or ''Land of Men''), is an international children's rights charitable humanitarian umbrella organization under the aegis of the International Federation of Terre des Hommes (TDHIF), wit ...

Syria. A resettlement partner of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (BPRM) since the 1980s, ICMC operates a Resettlement Support Center (RSC) in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, Turkey, which refers eligible refugees to the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

for consideration. In the last few years alone, the RSC has facilitated the resettlement of more than 37,000 eligible refugees from countries of first

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

. In 2014, ICMC initiated a large public-private partnership program (known as "ICMC Cares") to protect labor migrants in Eastern Europe.ICMC Cares
/ref> The partnership includes the collaboration with public administrations, employment services, academic institutes, and private hospitals in Eastern Europe, and aims to expand to other European countries. Headquartered in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Switzerland, ICMC has affiliated entities in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium (ICMC Europe),

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, U.S. (ICMC Inc.), as well as operational offices in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, and

References

{{Authority control Christian refugee aid organizations Catholic Church organizations International charities Charities based in Switzerland Organisations based in Geneva Catholic organizations established in the 20th century Organizations established in 1951 1951 establishments in Switzerland International associations of the faithful

Early years

1960s and 1970s

1980s and 1990s

From the 2000s to nowadays

See also

References