UK pledges £30 million to help resettle refugees in Asia and Latin America

A UN scheme to resettle refugees to countries in Asia and Latin America is to receive £30.3 million in funding from the UK.

British Prime Minster Theresa May announced the resettlement funding and humanitarian aid package which will also focus on protecting refugees from trafficking, violence and exploitation at the EU summit in Malta on Friday 3 February.

It will mean that refugees fleeing conflict could be offered safe passages to Asia and Latin America instead of attempting dangerous crossings into Europe.  The funding is designed to help alleviate the pressures in Europe with richer nations providing financial support to new and emerging countries in Asia and Latin America – none of which have been confirmed yet –  so that they will eventually be better equipped to host refugees.  The scheme is intended to help up to 30,000 people move over three years.

Financial pledges from participating nations will be spent in Asia and Latin America countries  building vital infrastructure and facilities for new refugee arrivals that will allow them to set up new lives there.

The voluntary resettlement program, which is officially called The Emerging Resettlement Countries Joint Support Mechanism is run by the U.N. refugee agency and the International Organisation for Migration.

Theresa May insisted that the focus of the new £30million pound pledge is on “helping migrants return home rather than risk their lives continuing perilous journeys to Europe”.

The UK has also set up a special protection fund to help take care of vulnerable women and girls who are risk of trafficking when attempting to reach Europe illegally. A portion of the money will be spent on providing life-saving supplies and emergency medical care across Greece and Eastern Europe suffering the effects of freezing temperatures. Cash is also expected to bolster family reunions and voluntary returns to countries deemed safe with a new migrant centre to be created in Sudan.

This latest pledge sees the UK’s contribution to the humanitarian efforts soar to £100million since October 2015.

UK International Development Secretary Priti Patel said the package shows that the UK is “stepping up its support for the most vulnerable refugees who are at risk and need our help.

“This latest support from the UK will help those who decide they want to return home to do so safely, protect men, women and children from exploitation, and ensure that those caught in freezing conditions get the basic help they need to survive,” she said.

Furthermore, the British prime minister promised £2 million to help with the humanitarian crisis in Libya and £517,000 to train the Libyan coast guard with a view to increasing Libya’s ability to secure its own borders, disrupt people smuggling and prevent illegal arms trafficking.