Today, European heads of state meet in Malta to address one of Europe’s defining challenges: how to tackle the flow of refugees and migrants to the European continent in a comprehensive yet humane manner. Malta knows better than most what it feels like for boats to arrive on the shoreline, carrying people fleeing war and poverty in search of a better life.
This is the first time that EU heads of state have gathered since the inauguration of the new US President, Donald Trump. Amid a hardening of attitudes towards refugees and the apparent lessening of responsibility to refugees that we are seeing from the new US Administration, managing refugee and migrant flows effectively and sympathetically just got even harder. The US administration has suspended the refugee resettlement programme, a programme that has been a core component of the global refugee response. With the support of NGOs including the International Rescue Committee, the US has been resettling refugees successfully for decades, including 800,000 since 9/11.
Now, 60,000 of the 110,000 refugees who had been promised resettlement places in the US in 2017 have been left abandoned. These are people who are fleeing war and persecution, some of whom have particular needs such as medical conditions that can’t be treated in the countries currently hosting them. The majority are women and children. All have been through extensive security vetting procedures, some lasting up to 36 months. Their lifelines have gone.
Europe can also step up to address the shortfall in resettlement places caused by the hasty and harmful decision of the new administration
This creates an opportunity for Europe and for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as he convenes his European colleagues in Malta. Europe certainly has its own refugee and migration challenges to address. The need remains great for measures to end the tragedy of people drowning in the Mediterranean, to tackle the smugglers that profit from the deaths of those who don’t make it, and to improve conditions within countries that receive those who do arrive on their shores.
But Europe can also step up to address the shortfall in resettlement places caused by the hasty and harmful decision of the new administration. It’s an opportunity to show the world that Europe means business when it comes to protecting vulnerable refugees who have suffered the very worst of humanity. This is why the International Rescue Committee is calling on European heads of state to make a pledge to welcome 60,000 vulnerable refugees, equivalent to the number of places withdrawn by the US, through a comprehensive and effective resettlement programme supported by all member states.
Many would argue that Europe has already done its bit for refugees and that Europe is buckling under the strain. Let’s be clear: there is still a big and important job to do to process asylum applications and integrate those refugees who have arrived since 2015. And no one pretends that resettlement is the “answer” to the refugee crisis. Most refugees are in developing countries and need better aid there to help promote dignity and independence. But resettlement is part of the package with three distinct advantages.
Europe has 16.5% of the world’s GDP and yet only hosts 8% of the world’s refugees
First, resettlement involves extensive planning and vetting of refugees who are accepted on the programme. In the US, resettled refugees are health-screened and security-screened by a host of different government agencies over months and in many cases years. Not a single terrorist attack has been committed in the US by a refugee accepted through the resettlement programme.
Second, because it is planned, resettlement enables better integration of refugees into society and the economy that hosts them. In IRC’s experience in the US, four in five refugees who enroll in employment programmes become economically self-sufficient within six months, and many go on to contribute significantly to the US economy, including by starting their own businesses. Just look at what refugees like Google founder Sergey Brin have achieved if you need proof.
Third, resettlement enables Europe to share responsibility with those countries that already host more than their fair share of refugees and now face greater strains because of the new Executive Order. Europe has 16.5% of the world’s GDP and yet only hosts 8% of the world’s refugees. Countries like Turkey and Lebanon are currently hosting Syrian refugees in their millions.
Finally, expanding resettlement should go some way towards addressing the irregular refugee and migration flows that are currently top of Europe’s mind. Unless there is a legal route to hope in the form of refugee resettlement, the only people who gain are the Mediterranean smugglers. The choice for Europe is simple: orderly and organised refugee resettlement as part of a coherent migration and asylum policy, or disorderly and illegal movement of people.
In the past two weeks we’ve seen vast crowds come out on the streets of Europe, protesting against the policies of the new US Administration, labelling them dangerous and inhumane. By taking refugee resettlement seriously, Europe’s leaders have a chance to show they are different.