To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UNHCR’s consideration of religious identity in their criteria for the referral of refugees from Iraq and Syria for resettlement in the UK under various schemes.
Answered on
24 October 2017
With regards to resettlement, the UK works according to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality- which means that we do not take into consideration the ethno-religious origins of people requiring assistance as we resettle solely on the basis of needs, identified by UNHCR.
UNHCR is the internationally recognised and mandated agency for dealing with refugees. It has a global presence and 65 years’ experience in handling refugee crises. UNHCR is uniquely placed to help the UK authorities to identify and process vulnerable refugees who would benefit from resettlement in this country.
The seven vulnerability criteria used by the UNHCR are Legal and or Physical Protection Needs; Survivors of Torture and/or Violence; Medical Needs; Women and Girls at Risk; Family Reunification; Children and Adolescents at Risk and Lack of Foreseeable Alternative Durable Solutions. Individuals are not specifically identified for resettlement based on their religion or ethnicity but members of minority communities may well meet one of the other vulnerability criteria set out by UNHCR.