Lauding Pope, Hindus want Religions and Nations to Handle Immigration as a universal urgency
Applauding Pope's highlighting of immigration issues, Hindus have urged the host countries to improve national policies
to protect immigrants' human rights and the countries of origin to work on eradication of the causes, which lead to
migration.
Acclaimed Hindu leader Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was the moral responsibility of all
religions to take the issue of immigration as a global urgency and come up with clear policies on it. He urged world
religious leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI, Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew, Dalai Lama XIV, Archbishop of Canterbury
Rowan Williams, etc., to take a strong stand on issues relating to immigration.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, says that with strong political response and will, host nations
should respect human rights of immigrants and make their integration into mainstream smooth, create infrastructure to
handle immigration impact, commend cultural diversity, combat human trafficking, and promote social cohesion. Countries
of origin should work on economic and other development and improve living conditions so the prospective migrants do not
consider leaving.
ENDS