(The Secretary of State for the
Home Department): The UK is today reaffirming its
ongoing commitment to supporting refugees, and to working with
partners to find a longer-term approach to refugee protection –
an approach that restores dignity and offers refugees a viable
future.
The UK has a long history of supporting refugees in need of
protection. Our schemes have provided safe and legal routes for
tens of thousands of people to start new lives in the UK. In
every year since 2016 the UK resettled more refugees from outside
Europe than any other EU member state. These remarkable
achievements have been made possible through the tireless
commitment of individuals, community and faith groups, local
authorities, the devolved administrations, NGOs and our
international partners - I am grateful to all of them for their
on-going support.
The global humanitarian need continues to grow with over 68.5
million people around the world forced from their homes and
nearly 25.4 million refugees fleeing persecution; whether due to
conflict, religious belief, sexuality or any reason under the
Refugee Convention. Over half of those refugees are children and
for some, resettlement to places like the UK is the only durable
solution.
With our commitments under the Vulnerable Persons’ Resettlement
Scheme, Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme and Gateway
Protection Programme coming to an end during 2020, it is right to
provide certainty to our partners on the future of the UK’s
refugee resettlement offer. That is why today I want to confirm
the UK’s ongoing commitment to resettlement and set out our plans
for after 2020.
Once we have delivered our current commitments we will
consolidate our biggest resettlement schemes into a new global
resettlement scheme. Our priority will be to continue to identify
and resettle the most vulnerable refugees, identified and
referred by UNHCR. Under the global resettlement scheme, we will
broaden our geographical focus beyond the Middle East and North
Africa region and be better placed to swiftly respond to
international crises in coordination with global partners.
In the first year of operation of the new scheme, the UK will aim
to resettle in the region of 5000 of the world’s most vulnerable
refugees. We will continue to purposefully target those greatest
in need of assistance, including people requiring urgent medical
treatment, survivors of violence and torture, and women and
children at risk. A new process for emergency resettlement will
also be developed, allowing the UK to respond quickly to
instances of heightened protection need, providing a faster route
to protection where lives are at risk. Building on the experience
of delivering the current schemes and the significant
contribution of our community sponsors a key part of our
resettlement offer will be that those resettled through our
community sponsorship and Mandate routes will be in addition to
our yearly, global commitment
We will continue to work in partnership with local authorities.
Recognising that their continued support will be fundamental to
achieving our ambitions, we will ensure they continue to be
well-funded, supporting them to provide resettled refugees with
the best possible support upon arrival. We will also continue our
strong engagement with civil society as we move forward.
We will continue to support the long-term integration of
refugees, empowering them to fulfil their potential and
contribute positively to their new communities.
