Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Wales Martin Pollard Chief Executive Welsh Centre for International Affairs martinpollard@wcia.org.uk Image © Ilias Bartolini

What’s in a picture?

Commonly confused terms Moving to another country for a job or better quality of life Economic migrant Moving freely within the European Union (made up of 28 countries) EU migrant Seeking refuge from their own country – fleeing persecution or war Asylum seeker Granted asylum, i.e. the right to stay in another country Refugee Entering a country by illegal means, but not an asylum seeker Illegal immigrant Moving into a new country for any reason Migrant/immigrant

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Declared in 1948, it contains 30 rights that apply to all: Equality Life, liberty and security No slavery No torture or cruel punishment Recognition as a person before law No discrimination Fair trial Legal protection for rights Privacy and home life Freedom of movement No arbitrary arrest/imprisonment Innocent until proved guilty Seek asylum Nationality Freedom of marriage Property rights Freedom of thought and religion Freedom of opinion and expression Education Freedom to meet/assemble Participation in democracy Fair working conditions Economic, social and cultural rights Health and well-being Participation in arts/sciences All governments and individuals should protect these rights. They can only be limited in order to protect other people’s rights.

Claiming asylum is everyone’s right UDHR Article 14: Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention: A refugee is a person who: “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country” UNHCR was founded in 1950 to protect and support refugees worldwide

So what is the global picture? Since you woke up this morning (3 hours)… 4,500 people worldwide have been newly displaced from their homes Of these, 3,121 moved elsewhere within their own country 1,041 arrived in Europe Of these, 12 arrived in the UK Image © John Englart (Takver) The Europe figure looks high, but much of this is Turkey (plus we’re going to look at historical populations…)

Newly displaced persons per minute 2003-2015 Graphic from UNHCR’s Global Trends 2015 report Newly displaced persons per minute 2003-2015

Trend of global displacement & proportion displaced 1996-2015 Graphic from UNHCR’s Global Trends 2015 report Trend of global displacement & proportion displaced 1996-2015

Graphic from UNHCR’s Global Trends 2015 report Major refugee-hosting countries 2014-2015 To take it to a country level…

Graphic from UNHCR’s Global Trends 2015 report

Graphic from UNHCR’s Global Trends 2015 report

Source: UNHCR’s Global Trends 2015 report

Source: UNHCR’s Global Trends 2015 report Taking it down to the level of the EU 28… Source: UNHCR’s Global Trends 2015 report

Refugees & asylum seekers in the UK 32,733 new asylum seekers in 2015 (highest ever: 84,132 in 2002) Asylum seekers make up about 8% of migrants entering UK Some are detained throughout their application for asylum Asylum seekers are entitled to housing and £36.95 per person per week for food, clothing etc. Most asylum seekers don’t have the right to work here – but refugees can work The responsibility to provide proof of persecution is on the applicant (How do you prove your sexuality? Your religion?) In 2015-16, 62% of asylum applications were refused at first (some were later successful on appeal) 2,766 asylum seekers were forced to return to their country; 1,542 did so voluntarily

People seeking asylum in the UK – top 10 countries of origin (2016) 1. Iran – 4,192 3. Iraq – 2,666 2. Pakistan – 2,857 Afghanistan – 2,341 Bangladesh – 1,939 6= Albania – 1,488 India – 1,488 8. Syria – 1,409 9. Sudan – 1,314 10. Eritrea – 1,238

Current numbers of asylum seekers in Wales Cardiff: 1,409 Swansea: 923 Newport: 519 Wrexham: 146 Total: 2,997 Equivalent to 0.09% of Welsh population Source: Latest Home Office quarterly release statistics ( Oct.- Dec. 2016) This slide courtesy of Displaced People in Action

Where are Syrian refugees? (ECHO – 16 Jan 2017) Note: UK government committed to resettling 5,000 Syrian refugees each year

The Migration Observatory has found that: People are confused about different categories of migrants, but are most negative about asylum seekers and low-skilled migrants About 75% of people in the UK want reduced immigration People consistently say that immigration is one of the top 5 ‘most important issues’ in the UK Concern about migration applies to both EU and non-EU migration People in the UK are more concerned about immigration than people in other European countries or North America www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk

So how do we approach this with learners? We need approaches that are: Based on facts Grounded in respect for equality and human rights Aimed at promoting a positive sense of global citizenship … and then we can engage critically with the issue

We’re not so different. Let’s stand as one. (Oxfam) We need to discuss questions like… How can we support people fleeing persecution and war? Are we fulfilling our obligations to support refugees and asylum seekers? Should we focus on supporting people in refugee camps in Turkey and the Middle East, or on welcoming more asylum seekers to the UK? How fair is media coverage of this issue? What are the most reliable information sources? And not questions like: Should we support people fleeing persecution and war? (Yes) Do we take in too many refugees and asylum seekers? (No) Are asylum seekers responsible for a lot of violent crime? (No) We’re not so different. Let’s stand as one. (Oxfam)

Thanks for listening Keep in touch: Martin Pollard (Chief Executive) martinpollard@wcia.org.uk Workshops and training from CEWC (schools arm of the WCIA): www.wcia.org.uk/cewc/workshops www.wcia.org.uk/cewc/teachertraining