MP warns that refugee camps could become hotbeds of radicalisation
Today in International Aid Questions in the House of Commons, John Baron MP questioned the Secretary of State, Rt Hon Justine Greening MP, about the need for more humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees. Britain has led the way, but many international partners have lagged far behind. John has highlighted the danger of ignoring the plight of Syrian refugees by suggesting that the camps themselves could become hotbeds of radicalisation.
John asked,
“Britain can be proud of its humanitarian support regarding the Syrian crisis, but less so some of our international partners. But there remain desperate shortages of basic amenities in many refugee camps. Will she now encourage other countries to step up to the plate?”
In response, the Secretary of State said Britain will be doing more to persuade other countries to increase their humanitarian spending, and to meet their commitments.
Afterwards, John said,
“If countries were to cough up the money that they promised, then there would be a dramatic improvement in the general humanitarian effort. This would relieve suffering. The Government must now exert more pressure on other countries to meet their commitments.”
“The danger with allowing this situation to continue is that the refugee camps themselves could become hotbeds of radicalisation, which we must guard against. To those who accuse us of wanting to do nothing by refusing to arm the Syrian rebels, my response is that there is so much more we could do on humanitarian grounds to relieve the suffering. It is in all our interests that this is done.”
Ends
Word Count: 286
Date: 17th July 2013
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