UK's response to migrant crisis 'clearly inadequate', charities say

Credit: Reuters

The UK's response to the migrant crisis has been condemned by leading charities and aid agencies as "clearly inadequate" as they urged the Prime Minister to take a "fair and proportionate" share of refugees.

The group of 27 charities, including Oxfam, the International Rescue Committee and Amnesty International, said David Cameron's commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees over five years was a "welcome first step".

But the group said it failed to meet the UK's responsibilities for dealing with the "crisis on Europe's doorstep".

In an open letter to Downing Street, co-ordinated by the British Refugee Council, the organisations said the UK's offer to re-home refugees was "too slow, too low and too narrow".

"The UK can and should be doing much more to ensure that refugees are not compelled to take life-threatening journeys or forced into smugglers’ hands," it continued.

David Cameron's response to the refugee crisis 'failed' to meet the UK's responsibilities, leading charities say. Credit: PA

The group said it is joining members of the legal community in endorsing the following four refugee principles "as a matter of urgency":

  • The UK should take a fair and proportionate share of refugees, both those already within the European Union and those still outside it.

  • Safe and legal routes to the UK, as well as to the European Union, need to be established.

  • Safe and legal routes within the European Union, including the UK, should be established.

  • There should be access to fair and thorough procedures to determine eligibility for international protection wherever it is sought.

Refugee Council chief executive Maurice Wren said: "There are no easy answers to a humanitarian crisis of this magnitude. However, the solution must not be to spend another year impassively watching on while desperate people drown or are forced to endure a march of misery across the continent as they try to find a safe haven or to be reunited with their loved ones."

A government spokesperson said: "The terrible images we have seen in the last year have moved us all, strengthening our resolve to help prevent more people suffering such a fate.

"That is why we are resettling people directly from the countries neighbouring Syria, to which so many refugees have fled, and we have already met our target of welcoming 1,000 of the most vulnerable before Christmas.

The UK is also playing a leading role providing life-saving aid to those most in need, both in the Syrian region, where we have pledged over £1.1bn in humanitarian aid, and in Europe. It is essential that we focus our support where we can make the biggest impact."

  • Here is the full text of the letter sent to the Prime Minister:

Dear Prime Minister,

As a coalition of international humanitarian organisations, refugee assistance organisations, and human rights advocacy groups we ask you to approach this New Year with new resolve to address the appalling plight of refugees in Europe. Last year saw 3,770 people drown and hundreds of thousands more endure a desperate march of misery across the continent.

Together, our organisations bear witness to the full arc of this refugee crisis. We see first-hand the human cost of war, persecution and human rights abuses that force people to abandon their homes in search of refuge. We provide emergency relief to desperate men, women and children who have fled to Europe's shores. We help refugees begin to rebuild their lives here in the United Kingdom.

We welcome the leading role the UK has played in offering international aid to places affected by conflict, especially in the Syria region. We also commend the UK for providing assistance to those helping refugees in Greece and the Balkans, where humanitarian relief is urgently needed.

Tackling the reasons people are forced to flee their homes in places such as Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea must of course remain a priority. However, in the absence of peace, people will continue to flee. We must provide them with safe, well-managed escape routes and refuge.

Last year's announcement that the UK will resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees over five years was a welcome first step, but given the numbers of people searching for safety across the globe, this response is clearly inadequate: it is too slow, too low and too narrow. The UK can and should be doing much more to ensure that refugees are not compelled to take life-threatening journeys or forced into smugglers' hands.

We therefore join leading members of the legal community in endorsing the following four refugee principles and believe that, as a matter of urgency:

  • The UK should take a fair and proportionate share of refugees, both those already within the European Union and those still outside it.

  • Safe and legal routes to the UK, as well as to the European Union, need to be established.

  • Safe and legal routes within the European Union, including the UK, should be established.

  • There should be access to fair and thorough procedures to determine eligibility for international protection wherever it is sought.

The UK, along with other European countries, must take responsibility for responding to the refugee crisis on Europe's doorstep.

Over 64 years ago, soon after the horrors of the Second World War, European governments adopted the Refugee Convention, an instrument of international law which British lawyers helped to draft.

As a nation, we made a promise: that never again would refugees be left out in the cold to fend for themselves; that this country would protect them; that here, they would find safe haven.

We urge you to keep that promise.

  • Girish Menon, chief executive, ActionAid UK

  • Kate Allen, director, Amnesty International UK

  • Wayne Myslik, chief executive, Asylum Aid

  • Ben Jackson, chief executive, Bond

  • Maurice Wren, chief executive, British Refugee Council

  • Chris Bain, director, CAFOD

  • Loretta Minghella, chief executive, Christian Aid

  • Tiffy Allen, network coordinator, City of Sanctuary

  • Dr Phil McCarthy, chief executive, CSAN (Caritas Social Action Network)

  • Leigh Daynes, executive director, Doctors of the World UK

  • Susan Munroe, chief executive, Freedom from Torture

  • John Sauven, executive director, Greenpeace UK

  • Jane Waterman, executive director, International Rescue Committee UK

  • Imran Madden, director, Islamic Relief UK

  • Saira Grant, chief executive, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants

  • Shami Chakrabarti, director, Liberty

  • Dr Hany El-Banna, chairman, Muslim Charities Forum

  • Simon Underwood, chair, North of England Refugee Service

  • Mark Goldring, chief executive, Oxfam GB

  • Stephen Hale, chief executive, Refugee Action

  • Adrian Marshall, executive director, Responding to Conflict

  • John Wilkes, chief executive, Scottish Refugee Council

  • Emma Williams, chief executive, Student Action for Refugees

  • Salah Mohamed, chief executive, Welsh Refugee Council

  • Natasha Walter, director, Women for Refugee Women

  • Tim Pilkington, chief executive, World Vision UK

  • Adam Leach, chief executive, Y Care International