By Lisa Zengarini
As Germany gears up for critical federal elections on Feb 23, German missionaries are calling for migration and development policies that are consistently based on human rights and take seriously the long-term interests of the populations of the Global South and North.
If you don’t want refugees combat the causes
In an open letter addressed to the main candidates, the Conference of Missionary Orders (KMO) said that politicians must “support a vision of migrants that is not problem-focused but rather centred on people.”
“If you do not want refugees, you must do more to combat the causes,” states the letter, signed KMO President Ursula Schulten and board members Salesian Father Reinhard Gesing and Sister Bosco Birgit Baier.
Migration issues at the centre of the German electoral campaign
Originally scheduled for Sep 28 2025, the federal elections in Germany were brought forward due to the recent collapse of the governing “traffic-light” coalition led by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz.
As in the rest of Europe and elsewhere, migration is a hot-button issue in Germany and has become a focal point of the electoral campaign with far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) embracing increasingly radical proposals to deport migrants.
Increased fears surrounding migration
The recent string of violent and fatal attacks involving asylum-seekers in the country, has intensified fears surrounding migration and has prompted opposition parties to advocate for stricter migration policies, as well as increasing support for the Afd, now polling in second place behind the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU).
The unprecedented decision by CDU top candidate Chancellor Freidrich Merz last week to work alongside the AfD in an attempt to pass an anti-immigration resolution has sparked widespread protests across Germany against what is considered as breach of a taboo in post-war German politics. The move has also been criticized by the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference (DBK) and the Lutheran Evangelical Church (EKD) along with the Jewish community.
KMO: only a fraction of migrants come to Europe
In their letter the German missionaries express their deep concern over the narrative of migration merely as a national security threat, reminding candidates that only a fraction of people forced to leave their homes in the Global South intend to migrate to Europe: “Most flee to neighbouring countries, which must absorb and handle significantly higher migration pressure than European states.”
As the parliamentary elections approaches misinformation about migrants and asylum-seekers has been circulating widely on social media in Germany.
The urgent need for climate action to reduce refugees
They further remarked that an increasing number of these refugees are also victims of the effects of climate change whose emergence “we in the Global North were and are also responsible for.”
KMO therefore urged the candidates to publicly acknowledge Germany’s historical responsibility in supporting poorer nations and to advocate for people whose fundamental rights are being violated: ”You must have the courage to confront the people of our country with the scientifically founded truth that we, as humanity, are jeopardizing the survival conditions of millions and billions of people, and consequently, our own prosperity is also at risk,” they urged
For their part, the religious orders said they are ready to support “the necessary socio-ecological transformation” with their efforts “in service to people in our country and in countries of the Global South.”
KMO brings together 92 religious orders active worldwide within the German Conference of Religious Superiors (DOK). Its members are on the ground and are therefore familiar with the impact of climate change on the local populations they serve in the Global South. – Vatican News
