The protection of the human rights of refugees through resettlement to the United Kingdom
1. The Commissioner welcomes and appreciates the United Kingdom (UK) government’s commitment to providing international aid to Syria and neighbouring states that have been adversely affected by the five-year-long Syrian armed conflict and witnessed the flight of over 4.5 million refugees (as of January 2016). As of early 2016 the UK had pledged £1.12 bn of aid in the region, making it the second biggest bilateral donor in the world. On 4 February Prime Minister Cameron announced that an extra £1.2bn would be spent between 2016 and 2020. The same day the UK hosted and played a leading role in the “Supporting Syria and the region 2016” international conference in London. This notably led to a pledge of over $11bn aid to the Syria region for 2016-20, placing emphasis on the protection of civilians, supporting political transition in Syria and facilitating Syrian refugees’ access to jobs and quality education.
