In just a few hours nearly 5,000 people across the UK have contacted their MP to ask them to support the call for the resettlement of some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees in next week’s proposed vote, Amnesty has announced.

Since the conflict started in Syria nearly three years ago 2.3 million people have fled the country, more than half of them children.

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, set a goal of securing 30,000 resettlement places across the world, but the UK government has so far refused to participate in the scheme. However, on Wednesday Prime Minister David Cameron said at Prime Minister’s Questions that he was prepared to ‘look again’ at the issue of the humanitarian resettlement of Syrian refugees in the cases involving ‘extreme hardship’.

Next week, the UK Parliament will vote on whether the UK should resettle some of the most vulnerable refugees from Syria. People can urge their MP to vote in favour of the proposal at www.amnesty.org.uk

The response has been dramatic with 97% of MPs contacted so far.
Director of Amnesty International UK Kate Allen said:

“We have been railing against the Prime Minister’s refusal to offer to take a single refugee from the overflowing camps for months, and so the recent hint at a change of heart is welcome indeed.

“The breadth of cross-party support for taking some of the most vulnerable refugees shows what a basic moral duty this is, but we need to keep the pressure up.

“Ahead of next Wednesday’s debate thousands of Amnesty supporters are writing to their MPs to let them know that people across the UK want to help the desperate people who have fled Syria.

“When the political will exists it is possible to act quickly to save lives and that’s what the public want.”