- Conference
- 2023 National Black Members’ Conference
- Date
- 29 September 2022
- Decision
- Carried
No one puts themselves or their families at the dangerous risk of crossing waters on a dinghy or pay criminals to seek escape to a safer haven if they are not desperate.
The right for refugees to escape war and persecution and seek safety elsewhere is set out in the Refugee Convention of 1951, which has protected asylum-seekers worldwide for decades. In the UK, anti-refugee laws are putting that basic right under threat. Unless we fight back, the UK will no longer be a safe haven for those in desperate need.
We believe that the Tory move to prevent refugees from settling in the UK and transfer them offshore to Rwanda, a country that has had a questionable approach to human rights in the past, is an inhumane and wholly racist policy and provides insufficient safeguards to protect them and their rights. The Tory Party’s spin on wanting to prevent the exploitation of refugees through people-trafficking is a simply a guise under which to implement their policies. Lives will still be put at risk.
Given that a large proportion of those that arrive in the UK do so by means that are deemed illegal, all of these people would be criminalised and considered for relocation. The policy will also affect people who have already settled in the UK, for example, the recent migration of refugees from Afghanistan – these people could also be sent to Rwanda.
Action is necessary because:
1)We believe that people seeking protection from war and persecution should be welcomed and that everyone’s claim for asylum should be treated equally and fairly;
2)The hostile environment has persistently emboldened racism and the rise of the far right;
3)Anti-refugee laws will not just impact asylum seekers trying to escape conflict to the UK. It is also giving rise to a new version of well-known racist rhetoric of ‘send them back’ and ‘not welcome here’;
4)The notion that Black persons seeking asylum would be safe in Rwanda fails to take into consideration the grave concerns around human rights within this country and the impact of ethnic discrimination that those seeking asylum may be subjected to.
Conference, we welcome that UNISON has signed up to the campaign and pledge to fight Anti-Refugee Laws, however, more needs to be done.
We call upon the National Black Members Committee (NBMC) to:
a)Work with UNISON to defend the right of asylum seekers and refugees to seek safety from war and persecution, here in the UK;
b)Encourage the development of a national campaign and seek to obtain the support of the wider UNISON body, to include statements and public opposition to the division that these policies continue to create;
c)Publicly speak out against attempts to criminalise and punish those who make their own way to safety by seeking to obtain the support of appropriate bodies such as Care4Calais, to challenge and seek the repeal of the anti-refugee laws which will risk the lives and wellbeing of millions.