GOVERNMENT ABANDONS DUBS SCHEME
12 February 2017
The Government announced on Wednesday that it would stop receiving refugee children under the so-called Dubs Amendment at the end of March – having resettled just 200 children so far under this scheme
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The Dubs Amendment – to resettle the most vulnerable unaccompanied asylum-seeking children – was passed in Parliament in May last year. While there was no target number specified in law, it was anticipated the Government would accept around 3,000 children under this scheme. But ministers have now confirmed that it will resettle just 350 children in total.
Charities, church leaders, MPs and peers have called the decision to end the scheme “shameful”. Elmbridge CAN co-founder, Jeannie Tweedie, said: “We are appalled at the Government’s decision to close the scheme having only accepted a fraction of the number of children originally planned. We know from our contacts on the ground that there are still thousands of unaccompanied children in Europe – alone, scared and desperate. Many of the 1,000 or so children who were taken to reception centres across France when the Calais refugee camp was closed are eligible to come to the UK under the Dubs Amendment. This scheme is the only legal and safe route to the UK for these children. We believe the UK can and must do more to protect the most vulnerable refugee children. It’s simply not good enough to say ‘we’ve done our bit’ when we haven’t even touched the surface.” Former child refugee and peer, Lord Alf Dubs, who designed the law and fought to get it passed, said: “[On Wednesday] Theresa May put Britain on the wrong side of history. To our country’s shame, she has decided to shut down the Dubs Scheme, which promised child refugees a safe future in the UK. The Dubs Amendment was a promise to us – to honour our proud tradition of welcoming those most in need. I saw that compassion and courage in Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued me as a child from the Nazi regime, along with 669 Jewish children. Acts of heroism like this define our country and characterise the values we hold dear. Now we are faced with another such turning point in our nation’s history. Join me in saying YES – I want Britain to rescue the most vulnerable child refugees.” TAKE ACTION Sign this petition and tell Theresa May not to abandon the Dubs Scheme for refugee children. Write to your MP. Tell your friends to take action. We’ll need to fight harder than ever to make sure the Government doesn’t abandon its commitment to help the most vulnerable refugee children. |
Image: Manos Simonides / Flickr.com
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