We have been asked to circulate the following draft motion for full council meetings regarding Refugee Week (18-24 June). A number of leading UK charities, including SOS Children’s Villages UK (SOSUK), are supporting the 20th anniversary of Refugee Week.
Children now make up more than half of the world’s refugees – and SOSUK is at the forefront of providing vital care and support for unaccompanied child refugees. Throughout May and June, SOSUK will encourage people to walk a mile in the shoes of a refugee and consider the challenges faced along the migration routes through Europe and beyond.
SOSUK is calling on councillors to support the week by:
- Walking a mile to mark the ongoing refugee crisis, and posting a photo of your shoes on social media using the hashtag #walkamile
- Submitting the below motion to your council to recognise the national importance of Refugee Week and how we can all work together to ensure refugees feel welcome
For more information on getting involved in your Ward or on the campaign in general, please email their Senior Campaigns Officer Faye Grima on faye.grima@sosuk.org
Draft Motion: Refugee Week
- Celebrates the 20th anniversary of Refugee Week which runs from 18- 24 June 2018;
- Recognises that the refugee crisis has uprooted almost 50 million children from their homes who are now vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and trafficking;
- Celebrates that this year’s messaging for Refugee Week of ‘Different Pasts, Shared Futures’ is of great significance to ensuring refugees in our area are welcomed by us all;
- Will work with the many organisations supporting Refugee Week, including Amnesty International, the British Red Cross, the Refugee Council and SOS Children’s Villages UK to celebrate Refugee Week in our area.
- [Additional optional ask]: Write to the council’s MPs to call on the Government to do more to support the Refugee Crisis by:
- Considering the extension of the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme;
- Acknowledging the importance of Family Reunification by reconsidering its position on not allowing children to sponsor their parents to be reunited with them in the UK.