The UK Government has refused to offer safe passage to more Syrian refugees, deliberately ignoring the UN’s urgent plea for rich countries to help offer refuge to 10% of Syria’s refugees.

This week at a special summit in Geneva, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said that “Syria’s children, Syria’s future, are counting on everyone here to be generous, to show solidarity, to ease their suffering and end their plight.”

Sadly, his pleas fell on deaf ears.

Despite thousands of you supporting our #LetThemFly campaign, and despite MPs from across the political spectrum speaking up for Syrian refugees at a special Parliamentary debate, the UK Government failed to act.

But it’s not over yet.

The pressure is mounting on the Government to do more to help. Our voices are growing louder and we won’t, we can’t, give up.

Refugee Council Advocacy Manager Anna Musgrave said: “This conference has revealed a dangerous crisis in solidarity, a crisis in morality and a crisis in political leadership. How long will global leaders continue to bury their heads in the sand and pretend they can’t help the men, women and children who are frantically fleeing bombs, bullets and bloodshed?

“Britain has led the way through its aid commitment to Syrian people: now is the time for the Government to show the same leadership by offering safe passage to more refugees.”

In September, the most powerful politicians on the planet will meet at the UN’s General Assembly, which will be focused on discussing how to solve the global refugee crisis.

The Refugee Council will be working alongside our partners to send a strong message to those global leaders: that refugees’ lives are worth something, and they must be protected.

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