ReliefWeb

1. Introduction

1.1 Strategic Overview

The 2018 Europe Regional Migration Plan is being published on the heels of the November 2017 Red Cross Red Crescent Statutory meetings in Antalya, which reaffirmed that migration will remain one of the most important issues of our time, and set a benchmark for the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement’s long-standing work and humanitarian approach to migration.

Urging our organization to be a “Federation Fit for the Future”, the IFRC Secretary General stressed in his Oral Report that “Migration is a feature of the future. If we think we have a migration crisis now, then our young leaders are going to be dealing with something on a totally different scale in 2030.” The newly elected IFRC President also declared recently that “As a Red Cross and Red Crescent, we must be ready to stand up and advocate for all vulnerable migrants, for all vulnerable people. We must be prepared—we are prepared—to work with the international community for the respect and dignity of all people.”

Moreover, the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, through a Call for Action on the Humanitarian Needs of Vulnerable Migrants, at the Council of Delegates in Antalya, called on States to guarantee the safety and dignity of all migrants, along with their unrestrained access to humanitarian assistance.

Additionally, a major normative step was accomplished when the IFRC’s General Assembly in Antalya endorsed with great support the IFRC Global Strategy on Migration, which articulates National Societies’ and the IFRC Secretariat’s core strengths and common purpose on migration, setting out aims and objectives to be achieved over a 5-year timeframe from 2018 to 2022. The newly adopted IFRC Global Strategy on Migration, and its Road Map, build on previous commitments, formally set out in the IFRC’s Policy on Migration in 2009 and recalled by States in Resolution 3 adopted at the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2011, and the Movement Statement on Migration from the 2015 Council of Delegates. Its title—Reducing Vulnerability, Enhancing Resilience—reflects that this is not just about meeting humanitarian needs and mitigating risk, but also supporting the resilience of migrants by integrating assistance, protection and advocacy.

Overarching goal of the IFRC Global Strategy on Migration: At all stages of their journeys, and irrespective of their legal status, migrants find Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies that help them in times of need, enhance their resilience, and advocate for their rights.