A drowned two-year-old boy became the first known refugee
casualty of the year after the crowded dinghy he was travelling in hit rocks
off a Greek island
Cameron's response to the refugee crisis is "clearly
inadequate", aid and refugee agencies claim. The group of 27 charities -
including Oxfam and Amnesty International - say the UK should take a
"proportionate" share of refugees. The letter, coordinated by the
British Refugee Council, asks Cameron to show a "new resolve" to deal
with the crisis, which saw nearly 4,000 people drown last year and hundreds of
thousands more face danger and hardship while fleeing violence and oppression.
The group, which also includes the International Rescue
Committee, Liberty and ActionAid, wrote, "The UK can and should be doing
much more to ensure that refugees are not compelled to take life-threatening
journeys or forced into smugglers' hands…the solution must not be to spend
another year impassively watching on while desperate people drown or are forced
to endure a march of misery across the continent as they try to find a safe
haven or to be reunited with their loved ones."
They endorse principles set out by 350 former judges and
lawyers in October which include taking a fair share of refugees and
establishing safe and legal routes to the UK for those seeking protection.
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