Parliamentary committee commends UK's contribution to relief effort, calls for UK to take additional 3,000 refugee children
The House of Commons International Development Committee yesterday published a report on the Syrian refugee crisis.
Image credit: UK GovernmentYou can read it in PDF format here or HTML format here.
The Committee says in the report that the Government has responded impressively by contributing over £1.1 billion to the relief effort for the conflict in Syria, making the UK the second largest bilateral donor to the crisis. The Committee adds it is concerned by the failure of other donors, particularly major European countries, to show similar commitment.
While the International Development Committee welcomed the Government's expansion of the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (VPRS) to resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refugees, it is concerned that the present processes may fail to include some vulnerable groups such as refugees from the LGBT community, refugees with disabilities, and Christians and other religious minorities.
The Committee also urged the Government to back Save the Children's proposal of accepting an additional 3,000 refugee children from within Europe.
Chair of the Committee, Stephen Twigg MP, was quoted as saying: "Children are clearly some of the most vulnerable refugees this crisis has created. The Committee heard that close to 80% of Syria's child population already need humanitarian assistance.
"In December, the UNHCR and International Organisation for Migration estimated that one million refugees and migrants fled to Europe in 2015. Of more than 900,000 people taking the dangerous route across the Mediterranean, one in every two were Syrian. The first refugee casualty of 2016 was a drowned two year old boy pulled from the sea off the Greek coast.
"Having survived the treacherous journey, there is a grave possibility that unaccompanied children become the victims of people traffickers who force them into prostitution, child labour and the drugs trade. This is an issue of utmost urgency."
In a press release, the Committee summed up the report's recommendations as follows:
• On invisible refugees: It is essential that Government continues to monitor the profiles of cases referred for resettlement as, despite the best efforts of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), under-registration is an issue. It is important that vulnerable groups such as LGBT, Christians and the disabled, have fair access to the resettlement programme.
• The Government must insist other wealthy countries, including near neighbours, meet their funding commitments: Efforts should be focussed towards meeting the full financial requirement of the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) in order to support Governments of the region through a coordinated strategy to strengthen basic services in these countries and ease pressure on host communities.
• Registration of refugees in Lebanon: Syrian refugees crossing the border into Lebanon in the last six months have been unable to access international assistance and protection following a decision by the Lebanese Government (May 2015) to ban UNHCR from registering Syrian refugees. DFID should press the Lebanese Government to allow the resumption of registration as soon as possible.
• MPs call on DFID to investigate options for financial and employment assistance for refugees (for example, cash programming). There must be international support for sustainable employment solutions which provide income, dignity and future prospects for Syrian refugees and their host countries. The Committee welcomes plans for a Government proposal on the issue of refugee employment. A coordinated and carefully planned effort to address this issue will be essential in the long term.