HOLY SEE INTERVENTIONS AT U.N. ON REFUGEES, HUMAN RIGHTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 9, 2002 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, head of the Holy See Permanent Observer Delegation to the United Nations, spoke in recent days on refugees and on human rights. On November 7 he addressed the Third Committee of the General Assembly on the Report of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and on November 8 he spoke on Item 109, Human Rights Questions.

On the question of refugees he expressed pleasure that the "persons of concern" to the UNHCR had decreased slightly from 21.1 million in 2000 to 19.8 million in 2001 but noted that, "according to statistics compiled by the U.N., there are as many as 50 million internally displaced persons throughout the world."

"My Delegation is distressed," emphasized the archbishop, "that the Report states that some people found borders that were closed to many or suffered violence, xenophobia and the denial of fundamental rights." He said "the Holy See realizes that the world has gone through many changes in the past year," and assured that the Catholic Church, through a variety of agencies, would continue to help refugees and displaced persons. All agencies and institutions that do similar work, he stated, should "continue to put a 'human face' on the refugee and migrant, not dealing with quotas or numbers but reaching out to help people in need."

Speaking yesterday at the U.N. on human rights, the president-designate of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace stressed that "the Holy See has always defended and promoted respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms for all peoples. ... The Holy See is especially concerned that in many parts of the world, discriminatory or intolerant policies continue with regard to minorities in States having an official religion. Additional matters of concern are the combining of ethnic and religious persecution in many parts of the world and the blatant disregard and disrespect for churches, religious shrines and sites."

Archbishop Martino affirmed that "the right to life, the right to freedom of religion or belief and respect for religious and cultural heritage are the basic premises for human existence. The fact that there are still many places today where the right to gather for worship is either not recognized or is limited to members of one religion alone or where religious belief is pushed aside in the name of development or 'modern thought' is a sad commentary on any claim to a more just, peaceful world where fundamental rights and freedoms are more widely promoted and respected."

In conclusion, the apostolic nuncio reiterated the Holy See's firm "conviction that recourse to violence, in the name of religious belief, is a perversion of the very teaching of the major religions."

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