![LWF Senior Advocacy Advisor Fabián Wilches [center] with IELCO Bishop John Rojas, Director of Diaconia Ana Mendivelso, migration ministry Coordinator Johana Morales and Daniel, psychosocial support for migration ministry. Photo: IELCO](/sites/default/files/styles/ino_plain_2x_xl/public/2025-09/Colobia-global-forum-migration.jpg.webp?h=29e1af74&itok=oR2Emg_6 "LWF Senior Advocacy Advisor Fabián Wilches [center] with IELCO Bishop John Rojas, Director of Diaconia Ana Mendivelso, migration ministry Coordinator Johana Morales and Daniel, psychosocial support for migration ministry. Photo: IELCO")
LWF Senior Advocacy Advisor Fabián Wilches [center] with IELCO Bishop John Rojas, Director of Diaconia Ana Mendivelso, migration ministry Coordinator Johana Morales and Daniel, psychosocial support for migration ministry. Photo: IELCO
LWF brings voices of member churches to Global Forum on Migration and Development
(LWI) - The city of Ríohacha, on Colombia’s north-eastern tip, is the venue for the 15th Global Forum on Migration and Development, which is focusing on the theme of ‘Regular Migration, Labor Mobility and Human Rights: Pillars of Development and the Wellbeing of Societies’. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is present at the Forum, working with two civil society networks to ensure that the rights and dignity of migrants and displaced people are seen and heard by politicians and decision-makers.
The idea for the Forum was first proposed, almost two decades ago, by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. Since then, it has become an important platform for dialogue and sharing of best practices on migration, fostering inter-governmental cooperation and building partnerships between stakeholders including non-governmental organizations, businesses, civic leaders, academics and youth movements.
We expect commitments from our governments to respect and protect the dignity and rights of migrants.
Fabián Wilches, LWF Senior Advocacy Advisor
“At a time of rising criminalization of migrants, with restrictive and often inhumane laws, the Forum offers a vital opportunity to advocate for more humane policies and demand accountability for human rights violations,” says LWF’s Senior Advocacy Advisor Fabián Wilches, who is in Ríohacha for the 2 to 4 September meeting. “As civil society, we expect commitments from our governments to respect and protect the dignity and rights of migrants and others on the move,” he adds.
LWF plays an important role as one of the few faith-based organizations present at the Forum this year, Wilches notes. “As such, we bring the voices of our member churches offering invaluable support to migrants, returnees and local host populations,” he says. Among those is the Symbols of Hope initiative supporting migrants and refugees in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, while in Latin America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia (IELCO) works with migrants and host communities in cities across the country, including Bogotá, Villavicencio, Yopal, Paz de Ariporo and Turbo.
A place of hope, dignity and solidarity
“IELCO’s migrant ministry was founded in February 2019, when a church in Bogotá, with support from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), began accompanying families arriving in the capital, offering them a hot meal, a listening ear and some cash,” explains the ministry coordinator, Johana Morales Quiroga. “This simple but deeply meaningful gesture paved the way for us to develop a broader mission. Thanks to the support of LWF and others, including the ELCA, the AMMPARO network and ACT Alliance, we have been able to strengthen this service and to continue being a place of hope, dignity and solidarity for the migrant populations,” she says.
Today, the main focus of IELCO’s work is to provide comprehensive support to migrants and refugees in Colombia. This includes psychosocial and spiritual support, advice on case management, food and hygiene supplies, tutoring for children and technical skills training for adults. It also offers awareness-raising processes for churches and faith-based organizations on migration from a humanitarian and biblical-theological perspective.
Our goal is to share the gospel and to be a prophetic voice for the most vulnerable.
Johana Morales Quiroga, IELCO’s migrant ministry coordinator
“The goal is to share the gospel of Jesus Christi and to be a prophetic voice for the most vulnerable,” Morales continues. “Our aim is to strengthen local integration processes and to build capacity, especially in mixed groups of migrants and host communities. We also cooperate with LWF’s World Service program in Colombia and Venezuela on a joint project called Churches and Emergencies, which seeks to train churches in humanitarian aid and how to deal with different emergency situations.”
Staff at IELCO’s migrant ministry have many stories to tell of migrants who have been supported and successfully integrated into their new lives in Colombia. A mother, who arrived in Bogotá with her daughter suffering from a congenital disease, was provided with comprehensive support, including assistance in how to regularize their immigration process and obtain the necessary medical treatment. The mother was also offered training to develop a small business venture in order to improve their standard of living.
In northern Colombia, a family that had fled from Venezuela after facing political persecution requested support to move to a safer location. The migrant ministry was able to provide a safe route, as well as protection measures and follow-up to ensure that they arrived at their new destination. “It is so important for us that the Global Forum is being held in Ríohacha,“ concludes Morales, “because it recognizes the role of the local organizations in hosting migrants, highlighting the challenges and valuing solutions that are worked out at the local level.”
