UK refugee charities today call on the Government to be ready to put in place emergency pathways for those seeking refuge from the conflict in the Middle East.

The deepening crisis in Israel and Palestine has already cost thousands of lives and is exacerbating an already desperate Palestinian refugee crisis in the region.

Organisations including the Refugee Council, Safe Passage International, Doctors of the World, Helen Bamber Foundation and City of Sanctuary are supporting the call for a co-ordinated and emergency response to the plight of those having to flee their homes. They urge the UK Government to lead the way by putting in place:

• medical evacuation for people in need of specialist care
• an emergency family reunion scheme modelled on the approach introduced in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• an emergency refugee protection visa
• facilitated travel for UK nationals and those with the right to enter the UK
• prioritising cases of Israelis and Palestinians already in the UK asylum system

The proposals, set out in a briefing paper by the Refugee Council, build on approaches taken by the Government to other conflicts of significant scale, such as those in Afghanistan and Ukraine. The government is also being urged to use its diplomatic discussions to press for borders to be open to allow those wanting to leave the region a route to safety.

The charities are also emphasising the importance of the right to asylum in the UK being in place for those who through no fault of their own have to take dangerous journeys to reach the country.

Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said:

“As the conflict worsens the number of Palestinian men, women and children displaced and those facing grave danger will only increase. People who aren’t secure and safe in their homes need access to safety and the UK must be ready to play a role by implementing a package of emergency measures at short notice.

“Responses to recent major conflicts have resulted in different schemes for different nationalities, all with separate and often complex eligibility criteria and unclear funding regimes. Instead of this ad hoc and inconsistent approach, a standard set of measures to provide safe passage to those who need it should be operationalised as and when a crisis warrants such a response.

“At the same time it is vital that the right to asylum is up held for those who, through no fault of their own, have to take dangerous journeys to the UK as well as expanding  safe routes including an ambitious multi-year resettlement commitment, wider family reunion pathways, and the piloting of a refugee visa.”

–ENDS–

Notes:

• You can read the Refugee Council’s full briefing paper here.
• The statement signed by the organisations and list of signatories is below:

EMERGENCY MEASURES FOR ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

We urge the UK Government to be ready to take immediate steps to put in place emergency safe pathways for Israelis and Palestinians seeking refuge from the conflict in the Middle East.

The deepening crisis in Israel and Palestine has cost thousands of lives and is exacerbating an already desperate Palestinian refugee crisis in the region.

We call on the UK Government to lead the way in offering refuge to those caught up in the crisis by putting in place:

• medical evacuation for people in need of specialist care
• an emergency family reunion scheme modelled on the approach introduced in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• an emergency refugee protection visa
• facilitated travel for UK nationals and those with the right to enter the UK
• prioritise cases of Israelis and Palestinians already in the UK asylum system

It is also critical that the UK government uses diplomatic discussion to press for borders to be open to allow those fleeing the region a route to safety.

These proposals, set out in a briefing paper led by the Refugee Council, can be introduced quickly – they build on approaches taken by the UK Government to other conflicts of significant scale, such as those in Afghanistan and Ukraine.

It is also time Government put in place standard approaches for crises of this kind, rather than introducing ad hoc and inconsistent approaches once violence has broken out.

In setting out these proposals we reiterate our call for a fair and humane asylum system in the UK, with safe routes that provide refugees, no matter where they come from, with a means of seeking safety in the UK.

Those safe routes should include a bold and ambitious multi-year resettlement commitment, wider family reunion pathways, and the piloting of a refugee visa that allows people to travel safely in order to apply for asylum in the UK.

Signed,

Enver Solomon, CEO, Refugee Council
Katie Morrison, CEO, Safe Passage International
Kerry Smith, CEO, Helen Bamber Foundation
Siân Summers-Rees, Chief Officer, City of Sanctuary
Emily Crowley, Chief Executive, Student Action for Refugees
Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive, Refugee Action
Aderonke Apata, Founder and CEO, African Rainbow Family
Bella Kosmala, Chief Executive, Here for Good
Eleanor Brown, Managing Director, CARAS
Dr Helen Taylor, Director, Stories & Supper
Kayte Cable and Vicki Felgate, co-founders, Big Leaf Foundation
Mel Steel, Director, Voices in Exile
Paul Hutchings, CEO, Refugee Support Europe
Simon Tyler, Executive Director, Doctors of the World UK
Susannah Baker MBE, Refugee and Asylum Director, The Pickwell Foundation
Traci Kirkland, Head of Charity, Govan Community Project
Waltham Forest Migrant Action
William Gomes, Director, The William Gomes Podcast
Zoe Gardner, Another Europe is Possible
Dawn Judd, Chair, Preston City of Sanctuary