Across the country hundreds of organisations have joined the Fair Begins Here Promise to reject hostility, demonstrate solidarity with refugees and commit to taking action to win a fair new plan for refugees.
The Fair Begins Here Parliamentary Promise is an opportunity for politicians of all parties to stand alongside these organisations – both local and national – and commit to taking action to secure an asylum system that is well managed, fair and compassionate. By signing the Promise parliamentarians are standing together with refugees and demonstrating support for local groups in their community who do so much to welcome those forced to flee their home.
If you are a parliamentarian and you would like to join the Fair Begins Here Parliamentary Promise, please email Together With Refugees – the campaign coalition behind the Promise – at info@asylum-reform-initiative.org.uk . If a local group has asked you to sign the Promise, please also ensure you let them know you have joined. Once you have joined we can share material to help you publicise your support via social media and your website.
The Fair Begins Here Parliamentary Promise states
I am proud that in the area I represent, people go the extra mile to welcome refugees – opening their homes, volunteering, speaking up, donating. However, the UK’s asylum system is not working. It’s not working for refugees and it’s not working for local communities.
Along with the majority of people across the country and hundreds of local and national civil society organisations, I want an approach to the asylum system that is well managed, fair and compassionate. We need a system that represents who we are and that works for everyone. I am calling for a fair new plan for refugees that:
- Ensures protection for people fleeing war and persecution by upholding the UK’s commitment under international law to the right to claim asylum.
- Provides a proper strategy for welcoming refugees, who do so much to enrich our society, by ensuring fair, rapid decisions on their application for asylum, and the chance to rebuild their lives through settling in a community.
- Forges stronger global cooperation to tackle the root causes that force people to flee their homes and provides positive solutions when they do, including through safe routes to refugee protection.
I commit to do all I can to make this happen and promise to:
- Stand together with refugees in my constituency and Parliament.
- Take action to win a fair new plan for refugees for our country.
- Support local groups in my community that welcome and support refugees.
And I call on MPs from all parts of the country and all parties to join me and sign this Promise. Because fair begins here, with all of us.