The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has opposed the use of naval vessels to stop refugees and asylum seekers from crossing the English Channel in a strongly-worded written submission to a Parliamentary investigation into migration routes.
The submission, seen by The Tablet, includes some of the strongest criticism of the current immigration regime that has been issued by the Conference, and insists that the only way to reduce the number of dangerous Channel crossings is by providing safe and legal routes into the UK, in particular for children and through ambitious resettlement schemes.
“Tragic deaths, such as that of Abdulfatah Hamdallah who drowned in August, are a direct result of the UK and other European governments not working together to establish policies that prioritise the protection of human life,” they write.
“The current tendency to suggest that people should remain in France, Greece or other supposedly ‘safe countries’ is oversimplistic and ignores the lived realities of those risking their lives to reach our shores. Furthermore, it fails to recognise the UK’s moral responsibility for accommodating its fair share of the unprecedented population currently displaced from their homes across the world.”
The Bishops criticise political rhetoric that has “consistently overstated” the scale of Channel crossings and created “the false impression that refugees pose a threat to the UK’s economy, public safety or national security”.
The Bishops are also critical of the EU’s recent decision to shift its focus in the Mediterranean from rescue to deterrence. The use of ill-equipped private vessels and an absence of official rescue missions “resulted in more deaths”, they said.
The submission, one of 32 sent to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee as part of its investigation into “Channel crossings, migration and asylum-seeking routes through the EU” draws on the experience of Catholic charities that work with refugees on both sides of the Channel. Secours Catholique and Seeking Sanctuary both reported dangerous and unhygienic conditions for migrants in small encampments in France.
The Bishops acknowledge that people will continue attempting to reach the UK from mainland Europe, both for humanitarian reasons and because they have family or language ties in the country, but also note that the UK only accommodates a small proportion of asylum seekers in Europe.
“Coercive immigration controls will only increase the likelihood of people making dangerous journeys or being exploited by traffickers, rather than reducing their determination to build a new life here,” they wrote.
“The Catholic Church therefore recognises that new safe and legal routes are the only humane long-term solution.”
The Bishops expressed particular concern for unaccompanied child refugees, and said they were “extremely disheartened” by the decision to close the so-called Dubs Scheme that was intended to help them.
They welcomed the new Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme, but said it was “deeply concerned” about the lack of ambition and progress concerning the new programme. The Catholic Church is one of the leading civil society actors contributing to the existing Community Sponsorship Scheme and other resettlement programmes. Catholic parishes have resettled approximately 100 refugees from in and around Syria, and the Bishops’ Conference is funding a national coordinator to assist this work.
“The UK’s commitment to resettle 5,000 people in the first year of the new programme is extremely modest given the scale of unmet need. Furthermore no targets have been set for future years and no one has been resettled through existing routes for around six months,” they write. “In order to reduce unsafe Channel crossings or exploitation by traffickers, the new programme’s scope must include adult and child refugees in European camps, as well as those currently accommodated in developing countries.”
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