Page 6 - NewsandViews Summer 2024

Asylum seekers and refugees:
What do Quakers hope for, after the 2024 General Election? Susannah Kipling

At Area Sanctuary group, we’ve recently discussed an excellent paper produced by the Quaker Asylum
and Refugee Network, QARN, which suggests some important changes to the way we treat refugees. It
urges people to email election candidates with positive suggestions for improving a cruel and inhumane
system, and to correct the lies about migrants. QARN is currently preparing a pro forma letter which
Quakers can send to election candidates.

‘Asylum seekers and refugees: What do Quakers hope for, after the 2024 General Election?, lists crucial
policies to improve our response.

The paper calls for:

A humane, coordinated international response.
Currently, poorer countries are hosting 83 per cent of the world's refugees. Those who make their way to
the UK often do so because they have a link to our country. The UK should uphold the international laws
protecting refugees and work constructively with other countries to plan a humane response.
Faster, fairer asylum decisions. More than two-thirds of asylum seekers are having to wait over six
months for a decision. We should invest in effective legal help so that refugees can present their case
properly. The problem of expensive and unsuitable accommodation like crowded barges and hotels would
be solved if cases were resolved more quickly.

Lift the ban on asylum seekers working.
Currently they must wait 12 months before they can work, and then only in shortage occupations. Nearly
all are keen to work and their contribution would benefit our economy by boosting tax revenue and
reducing labour shortages. A YouGov poll has found that 81 per cent of the UK public support asylum
seekers' right to work.

Safe and regular routes.
Unless you are coming from Ukraine or Hong Kong, or are among the handful selected from a UN
resettlement scheme, there is no way to get permission to travel to the UK in advance. Refugees can only
claim asylum once they arrive. This increases the risk of dangerous journeys, and between 2018 and 2022,
61 per cent of people arriving in small boats were granted refugee protection or other leave to remain.
A similar online system of permission to travel to the UK as used by Ukrainians and Hong Kong nationals
should be available to all asylum seekers.

*Since this paper was written, the Home Office has introduced a new rule denying family members of
Ukrainians settled in the UK the right to join them.

The Illegal Migration Act
violates the UK's commitments under the Refugee Convention and should be radically amended or
repealed. A 2022 Ipsos Mori poll found that 80 per cent of people believed people facing war and
persecution should be able to take refuge in other countries, including the UK.

Alternatives to unjust and inhumane immigration detention.
People should not be locked up without judicial oversight. Child asylum seekers should never be
imprisoned. A successful 'Alternatives to Detention' pilot in 2019-2021 supported 20 women asylum

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