UNHCR Urges UK To Resume Refugee Resettlement After Drowning Incident In Channel

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2020) The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has appealed to the United Kingdom to resume its refugee resettlement scheme, which was suspended over the pandemic, after a Kurdish Iranian family drowned trying to cross the channel, in a statement out on Friday.

The tragedy unfolded on Tuesday, as the couple and their three children tried to reach the UK shores by boat after reportedly having paid smugglers thousands of Euros. Four of them were found to have drowned, but the fate of the toddler remains unknown.

"UNHCR hopes that resettlement to the UK will restart very soon, once reception capacity is confirmed and any remaining logistical issues related to Covid are overcome by the authorities. The pandemic has presented new, acute hardships and uncertainties for refugees," UNHCR's UK representative, Rossella Pagliuchi-Lor, said.

According to expert estimates, over 7,400 migrants have reached the European island nation by small boats in 2020 alone, which is almost four times more than a year before. Up to seven migrants were reported to have drowned this year.

"The tragic events in the Channel this week demonstrate again the need for concerted international efforts to address the complex root causes of displacement. Reopening and expanding legal pathways for more refugees to come to the UK in safety is one tangible way that this country can help," Pagliuchi-Lor noted.

In June 2019, the UK Home Office announced that the country would resettle at least 5,000 refugees in 2020 under an expanded version of its Syrian Vulnerable Person's Resettlement Scheme, launched in 2015. However, the program had to be suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.