UK To Take In Some Refugee Children Separated From Families

The government has asked the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) to help identify “exceptional cases” of children from conflict zones whose “needs can not be met in the region and whose best interests would be met through protection in the U.K”.

The move follows calls from charities led by Save the Children for Britain to admit at least 3,000 young people who have reached Europe, warning that many simply “disappear” once here and fall into the hands of people traffickers.

Opposition politicians have criticised the Home Office for refusing specifically to promise to take the 3,000 unaccompanied children recommended by the charity, as well as for refusing to say how many would come from Europe.

Save the Children campaigns director Kirsty McNeill said there was now “confusion” around exactly what the government was proposing.

What we do know is that the figure will be in additional to the 20,000 refugees the country has already pledged to take.

“They draw a distinction between children in the camps in the region and children who have made it to Europe”.

However concerns have been raised that accepting children who are in Europe could act as a “pull factor” for more migrants to come to Europe and break up families.

“But we cannot forget those children who’ve already arrived in Europe, who’ve arrived along and are very vulnerable and what we need to do is make sure the government does all it can to help both”.

Displaced children, who fled with their families the violence from Islamic State-controlled area of al-Bab, wait as they are stuck in the Syrian village of Akda to cross into Turkey, January 23, 2016. The new program is in addition to the 20,000 refugees that Britain has agreed to settle in the next five years.

“We need to make sure there is adequate support for children, effected by conflicts such as the one in Syria and they will become refugees in those neighboring countries like Lebanon and Jordan”, Alasdair said.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire has indicated that Britain will provide resources to identify children in Greece and Italy who have family members in this country.

The Prime Minister has rejected calls to take the vulnerable children saying that to do so could create “a magnet” to attract more migrants to cross the Mediterranean.

Instead, Britain will take in a now undisclosed number of unaccompanied children from refugee camps on the Syrian border.

“The vast majority are better off staying in the region so they can be reunited with surviving family members”, Brokenshire said.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron told Sky News the plan was “media management” by David Cameron.