The world is experiencing its most serious refugee crisis
since the Second World War, with more than 21m people fleeing their country of
origin, and over 34,000 people displaced each day. 1.3m refugees have so far
arrived in the EU. In the UK, we currently provide sanctuary to around 16,000
people per year.
The Home Office introduced community sponsorship in the UK
in July 2016 as part of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme,
which has a goal of resettling 23,000 people by 2020. Sponsorship enables
community groups to support vulnerable people fleeing conflict by providing
resettlement support and helping to enable their effective integration
(providing access to housing, language training, employment advice, etc.).
Canada has pioneered sponsorship, with over 300,000 refugees supported in this
way over the past 40 years. The evidence points to the the transformational
role community resettlement can play – speeding up integration, but also
bringing communities together and building a more positive narrative on refugee
issues.
Why we are doing this:
Sponsors can mobilise community level resources to achieve
more effective integration – for example accelerating language learning and
using their informal networks to help secure employment quicker
Sponsorship brings people together, integrating communities.
Their shared experiences can build a more welcoming culture and change the
narrative on refugee issues
“Our hope is that the successful Canadian private
sponsorship model will inspire others to develop programs appropriate to their context.” -
Johannes Van Der Klaauw, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Representative to Canada