The Race Equality Foundation has signed a joint statement with over 150 other organisations, asking the Government to put safety first.
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Following the tragic deaths of at least 27 people in the English Channel – including children – it is time for serious action. We cannot stand by and let this Government’s harsh rhetoric and ill-thought-out approach go unchecked.
This Government’s policy of grabbing cheap headlines and blaming the French authorities while paying them millions of pounds to build fences around the Channel ports has not worked. Now people fleeing conflict, persecution and war have paid the ultimate price. We know from the warehouses overflowing with donations for Afghan refugees that the public believes in the right to seek safety. That same public cannot stand for this.
Instead of trying to blame people seeking safety for its own failures, this Government must step up to its responsibilities and focus on saving lives.
For a start, parliamentarians must rethink the Nationality and Borders Bill. Not only will these new laws take a wrecking ball to the very principle of refugee protection, but we know they are unworkable. They will push desperate people further into the arms of smuggling gangs and will only inflame our international partners who we need to work with to ensure people seeking sanctuary can do so safely.
We also need a cast-iron commitment from this Government that it will not pursue its policies on offshoring or pushbacks, which will cause even more harm and make deaths in the Channel even more likely.
Above all, this tragedy shows how urgent it is for this Government to work with its international partners to create more routes to safety for refugees. This Government demands refugees take official routes, but for most people, these simply do not exist. Refugees are left with little option but to arrive here hidden in a plane or lorry or crammed onto a small boat.
We are calling on this Government to make a long-term commitment to:
- create a compassionate asylum system that treats all people seeking asylum in the UK with kindness and dignity
- resettle at least 10,000 refugees each year from around the world
- reinstate the Dubs Agreement to protect child refugees from exploitation
- expand family reunion so that more people can be reunited with their loved ones
- introduce a humanitarian corridor
We ask the Government to sit down with people who’ve gone through the asylum system, and their advocates, to create a new, more compassionate, and effective process which puts safety first. Now, if ever, is the time to do so.
Signed by
Barrow Cadbury Trust, Dame Sara Llewellin DBE
Refugee Action, Tim Naor Hilton, CEO
Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, CEO
Freedom From Torture, Sonya Sceats, CEO
Scottish Refugee Council, Sabir Zazai, CEO
Asylum Matters, Andrea Vukovic & Paul Hook, Co-directors
Abigail Housing, Amanda Church-Mcfarlane, Co-Chief Executive Officer
Action for Refugees in Lewisham, Sophie Wickham, Director
ACH, Fuad Mahamed, CEO
Allies for Justice, Steven Shyaka, Lived experience campaigns coordinator
Amber Film and Photography Collective Laura Laffler, Director
Asylum Aid, Ian Kane, Legal Services Manager
Asylum Link Merseyside, Ewan Roberts, Centre Manager
Asylum Support Appeals Project
Asylum Welcome, Mark Goldring, Director
AVID (Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees), Ali McGinley, Director
Baca, Jimmy Zachariah, CEO
Bail for Immigration Detainees, Annie Viswanathan, Director
Big Leaf Foundation, Evie Booton, Campaigns Coordinator
Baobab Centre For Young Survivors in Exile, Jodie Bourke, Senior Manager
Boaz Trust, Ros Holland, Chef Executive
Body & Soul, Emma Colyer, Director
Bradford City of Sanctuary, Will Sutcliffe, Chair
Breaking Barriers, Matthew Powell, CEO
Bristol Defend the Asylum Seekers Campaign, Jo Benefield, Coordinator
Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living (BRIL), Mark Williams, Founder
British Association of Social Workers, Dr Ruth Allen, Chief Executive
Bromsgrove and Redditch Welcome Refugees, Yvonne Rendell, Chair
Calais Action, Libby Freeman & Caroline Gregory, Founder
Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group, Catharine Walston, Chair of Executive Committee
Campaign Bootcamp, Sarah Miguel, Co-Leader
CARAS, Eleanor Brown, Director
Care4Calais, Clare Moseley, Founder
Caritas Diocese of Shrewsbury, Ben Gilchrist, CEO
Carlisle Key, Diana Vlad & Iain McNee, Housing Support Officer and Operational Manager
Channel Rescue, Kim Bryan, Co-founder
Choose Love, Cherno Jagne, COO
Citizens of the World Choir, Becky Dell and Matilda James, Musical Director and Exec Producer
City of Sanctuary Sheffield, Tom Martin, Director
City of Sanctuary UK, Sian Summers-Rees, Chief Officer
Civic Leicester, Ambrose Musiyiwa, Facilitator
Common Space Common Humanity, Dave Plumb, Coordinator
Compass Collective, Leah Gayer, Co-director
Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre, Toni Soni, Centre Director
Curious Monkey, Zoe Connel, Project Coordinator for Arriving
Detention Action, Bella Sankey, Director
Doctors of the World, Ellen Waters, Director of Development
Donate4Refugees, Amber Bauer, Founder
ECPAT UK (Every Child Protected Against Trafficking), Patricia Durr, CEO
Equanicity, Cryton Chikoko, Co-founder
FAST (First Aid Support Team), Nynke van Dijck, Founder
Fences & Frontiers, Lewis Garland, Founder / Chair
FODI (Sunderland), Steve Newman, Chair
Good Chance Theatre, Naomi Webb, Executive Director
Govan Community Project, Traci Kirkland, Head of Charity
Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, Denise McDowell, Chief Executive
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Hastings Community of Sanctuary, Jane Grimshaw & Polly Gifford, Co-Chairs
Hay Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees , Ailsa Dunn, Secretary
Helen Bamber Foundation, Kerry Smith, CEO
Herne Hill Welcomes Refugees, Terry Morin, Chair
Herts for Refugees, Angus Clark, CEO
Homeless Network Scotland, Maggie Brunjes, Chief Executive
Hope for the Young, Matt Blacker, CEO
HOPE not hate, Nick Lowles, CEO
Hope Projects, Phil Davis, Director
Host Nottingham, Rebecca Kogan, Project Coordinator
Humans for Rights Network, Maddie Harris, Director/Founder
IMIX, Emma Harrison, CEO
Immigration Law Practioners’ Association, Nicole Francis , Chief Executive
Interfaith Scotland, Maureen Sier, Director
JRS UK, Sarah Teather, Director
Justice and Peace Scotland (Catholic) Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, Jill Kent
Justice First, Jason Hussein, Project Manager
Kids in Need of Defense UK (KIND UK), Katie Fennell, National Coordinator
KRAN, Dr Razia Shariff, CEO
Latin American Women’s Rights Service, Elizabeth Jiménez-Yáñez & Dolores Modern, Policy co-coordinators
Leeds Destitute Asylum-seekers Support, Jenny Willison, Trustee
Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network, Rosario Guimba-Stewart, Chief Executive
Liberal Democrats for Seekers of Sanctuary, John Skipworth, Chair of Council
Liberty, Martha Spurrier, Director
LOSRAS (Lewes Supports Refugees), Gill Tipping, Co-Chair
Love Welcomes, Abi Hewitt, CEO / Founder
Love 146, Philip Ishola, CEO
Malvern Green Space
Methodist Church, Geoff Charlton, Local Preacher
Micro Rainbow, Sebastian Rocca, CEO
Migrant Destitution Fund, Sian Mullen, Action Group Member
Migration Mobilities Bristol, Bridget Anderson, Director
Migrants’ Rights Network, Fizza Qureshi, CEO
Migrant Voice, Nazek Ramadan, Executive Director
NACCOM, Bridget Young, Director
NATECLA, Rachel Öner, Co-Chair
Norfolk Schools of Sanctuary, Jake Rose-Brown, Founder
North East Law Centre, Rachel McPeake, Project Administrator
Nurses United UK, Anthony Johnson, Registered Nurse and Lead Organiser
O’s Refugee Aid Team, Onjali Rauf, Founder and Author
Open Aye, Becky Duncan, Director
Our Second Home, Amos Schonfield, Director
Pathways Trust, Tara Pollitt, Operations Manager
Pollination, Yasmine Balfour-Lynn, Co-Founder
Praxis, Sally Daghlian OBE, CEO
Race Equality Foundation, Jabeer Butt OBE, CEO
Rainbow Home (North East England), Alessandra Mondin, Project worker
Rainbow Migration, Leila Zadeh, Executive Director
RAMFEL, James Tullett, CEO
Reading City of Sanctuary, Maggie Filipova Rivers, Manager
Reading Refugee Support Group, Nick Harborne, CEO
RefuAid, Anna Jones, Co Founder
Refugee Action, Lizzie Hobbs, GPP Team Administrator
Refugee Education UK, Catherine Gladwell, Chief Executive
Refugee Legal Support (RLS), Efi Stathopoulou, Programmes Manager
Refugee ReSETTLEment, Paul Kelly, Project leader
Refugee support East London and Essex, Pam Derwin, Admin
Refugee Survival Trust, Elaine Cameron, CEO
Refugee Trauma Initiative, Zarlasht Halaimzai, CEO and Co-Founder
Restore (a project of Birmingham Churches Together), Jeremy Thompson, Manager
Right to Remain, Lisa Matthews
Room to Heal, Elli Free, Director
Routes, Daisy Jacobs & Leyla McLennan, Co-directors
Royal College of Nursing, Geoff Earl, Council Member (personal capacity)
Runnymede Trust, Alba Kapoor, Senior Policy Officer
Rural Refugee Network, Nadia Potts, CEO
Safe Passage, Beth Gardiner Smith, CEO
Samphire, Indre Lechtimiakyte, Legal and Migrant Support Manager
Say It Loud Club, Aloysius Salle, Executive Director
Screen Share UK, Moses Seitler, Director
Scotswood Garden, Karen Dobson, CEO
Seeking Sanctuary, Phil Kerton, Co-Director
Settle Area Refugee Support, Angie Pedley, Treasurer
Social Workers Without Borders, Naomi Jackson
Solidarity With Refugees, Ros Ereira , Director
Sophie Hayes Foundation, Red Godfrey-Sagoo, CEO
Southampton & Winchester Visitors Group, Chris Stephens, Chair of Trustees
Southampton Action, Nikki Walters, Chair
Stand for All, Daniel Sohege, Director
Stories of Hope and Home, Stephanie Neville, Project Manager
Student Action for Refugees, Emily Crowley, Chief Executive
Swindon City of Sanctuary, Nicola Wood, Charity Manager
Tees Valley of Sanctuary, Suzanne Fletcher, Housing Co-ordinator
The Cotton Tree Trust, Janet Gilbert, General Manager
The Iona Community, Robert Swinfen, Convenor of Migration & Asylum Network
The Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE), Dr Edie Friedman, Executive Director
The Mercy Hub, Jeremy Cain, Coordinator
The Pickwell Foundation, Susannah Baker, Founder
The Refugee Rights Project, Izzy Hughes, Founder
The William Gomes Podcast, William Gomes, Director
the3million, Nicolas Hatton, CEO
Together with Migrant Children, Nick Watts & Jane Goldsmid, Co-Directors
Trauma Foundation South West, Judy Ryde, Founder/Clinical Director
UKCEN, Claudia Holmes, Founder
Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre, Siobhan Taylor-Ward, Solicitor
Voices in Exile, Mel Steel, Director
Voices Without Borders, Joss Duncan & Ewa Lelontko, Co-founders
Waging Peace, Maddy Crowther & Sonja Miley, Co-Executive Directors
West Cumbria Refugee Support Network, Kelly Davis, Chair
West End Refugee Service, Hannah Barnes, Director
Women for Refugee Women, Alphonsine Kabagabo, Director
Young Roots, Jo Cobley, CEO
