The Salvini Decree: The Protestant Churches Say No

Rome, September 7, 2018 (NEV/CS31) – “The measures envisaged by the Salvini Decree violate fundamental international agreements on migrants and asylum seekers and end up criminalizing refugees”. Paolo Naso, coordinator of Mediterranean Hope the Refugee and Migrant Project – Mediterranean Hope promoted by the FCEI said.

“If this rule were passed, asylum seekers could be treated as criminals and deprived of their freedom,  to be locked up in any place available by public security authorities. Moreover, through an arbitrary and against constitution action, this decree cancels the humanitarian protection provided for by the Art. 266 of the European Constitutional Treaty. Therefore, we have faced with a new and unjustified tightening that does not affect those who commit crimes, but who asks for protection. These are measures which will certainly be challenged for their unconstitutionality. In the meanwhile, as evangelical churches we firmly continue our welcoming process and we are ready to join the Catholic and secular forces that  in Italy and in Europe oppose the actual climate of intolerance and xenophobia fuelled by the hammering measures of our Interior Ministry.” Mr. Naso said.

“As FCEI, we have recently launched the  Welcome Manifesto  that commits us to oppose by means of information and education ‘the political campaign against immigrants and asylum seekers that, even facing a decreasing number of landings – perfectly sustainable by the European solidarity, exacerbates and amplify the public debate’. With this manifesto, which we invite to post outside every church, we mean that we are victims of a deception that overstress a serious problem that a great country such as Italy would know and could face in compliance with our laws and humanitarian tradition.”