The largest U.S. refugee resettlement agency will work in conjunction with international multi-lateral non-governmental organizations to discuss Africa's refugee crisis from November 26 to December 5.

Each year, thousands of African refugees are resettled in the United States, due in part to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS). From November 26 to December 5, a delegation of the USCCB Committee on Migration and MRS staff will visit Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and Guinea to witness the challenges faced by refugees in these countries, and to meet up with representatives from the United Nations, the United States Government, the Catholic Church, and non-governmental organizations in each country to discuss the implications of the continent's refugee crisis.

"Through consultations with world leaders as well as children separated from their families, the U.S. bishops and staff expect to gain a clear perspective on the refugee situation in Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone with the hope of better understanding what meaningful solutions are needed," says Bernadette Passade Cisse, USCCB Refugee Policy Advisor. "Meetings with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will explore possible avenues for further collaboration."

By Pauline J.
pjang@chtoday.com