Scots Urged to Back Syrian Refugee Call

Wednesday January 29 2014

Scottish Refugee Council is urging Scots to get behind its call for resettlement of Syria’s most vulnerable refugees, by asking their MP to vote ‘yes’ in the Westminster Parliament debate today.

The call, which is being made by Refugee Councils in Scotland, England and Wales, along with charities such as Amnesty, comes as the refugee crisis continues to escalate in Syria.

It came as the UK Government announced it had struck a deal with the United Nations which will mean Britain accepting around 500 refugees from Syria.

Over 2.3million people have now fled Syria’s bloody conflict. It's the fastest outflow of refugees from a country since the Rwandan genocide in 1994, with about 97 per cent hosted in the neighbouring countries of Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq.

The UNHCR believes there is  urgent need for a global resettlement programme to help the most vulnerable people find safety outside of the region, including women at risk, torture survivors and children with families; people who will simply struggle to survive the harsh conditions in the region.

The motion, which will be debated today, calls on the UK Government to participate in the UNHCR Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission of Syrian Refugees programme.

It also backs our call for concern about the most vulnerable refugees who will find it hardest to cope in refugee camps in the region, including victims of torture and children in need of special assistance.

John Wilkes, Chief Executive of Scottish Refugee Council, said: “For every person rescued from the region, a resettlement place would be life changing. We must do all we can to help support the most vulnerable in Syria.

“We applaud the UK Government’s commitment to the relief effort, but this is just part of the solution. It is also critical that we send the border countries a strong message of solidarity by sharing the responsibility of protecting those fleeing Syria who most need help.

“The Scottish Government has already stated that they are willing to do their part. Scotland has a proud tradition of offering sanctuary to those who need it most and has played a major role in previous resettlement and evacuation programmes of refugees from Kosovo and Bosnia. We are calling on Scots to email their MP and urge them to vote in support of resettlement this week.”

Meanwhile in the Scottish Parliament, a motion in support of resettlement has been tabled by Patricia Ferguson MSP.

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