A firmer commitment to long-term refugee resettlement

Yesterday (Wednesday 2nd October 2019), in oral questions to the Secretary of State for International Development, I followed up my set question – on government attempts to reduce the number of people who are forced to migrate – with a supplementary one. Because forced migration is often dangerous, I emphasised how refugee resettlement allows the United Nations to assess someone and – if they’re found to be a refugee – provide a safe and legal route to a safe country. The Department for International Development (DFID) funds and supports this, but there’s no commitment from government to continuing resettlement in the long term. I asked the Secretary of State to consider committing to a minimum of 10,000 refugees per year via resettlement, and for a minimum of five years. You can watch my question, and Alok Sharma’s answer here.

Posted by Thangam Debbonaire MP for Bristol West on Thursday, October 3, 2019