In
accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the
Constitution, Councillor Catrin Wager will propose as follows:-
1.
This Council wishes to declare a warm welcome to refugees from Afghanistan who have recently, or will shortly, be arriving in Gwynedd.
2.
This Council supports the fundamental principles of:-
· Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, which recognizes the right of persons to seek asylum from persecution in other countries, and the
·
1951 Convention Relating to the Status
of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.
3.
The
Council is concerned that the UK government’s proposed New plan for Immigration does not uphold the principles outlined above, and objects to the criminalisation of the act of seeking refuge.
Decision:
1.
This Council wishes to declare a warm welcome to
refugees from Afghanistan who have recently, or will shortly, be arriving in
Gwynedd.
2.
This Council supports the fundamental principles of:-
·
Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights 1948, which recognizes the right of persons to seek asylum from
persecution in other countries, and the
·
1951
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to
the Status of Refugees.
3.
The Council is concerned that the UK government’s
proposed new plan for Immigration does not uphold the principles outlined
above, and objects to the criminalisation of the act of seeking refuge.
4.
This Council expresses its gratitude to the residents
of Gwynedd for their immense generosity and their willingness to support
refugees over the years, and to the county's voluntary organisations such as Pobl i Bobl,
Croeso Menai and Cefn for their exceptional work in this field.
Minutes:
(B) Submitted - the following notice of motion
by Councillor Catrin Wager, in accordance with Section 4.20 of the
Constitution, and it was seconded:
1.
That this
Council wishes to declare a warm welcome to refugees from Afghanistan who have recently, or will shortly, be arriving in Gwynedd.
2.
This Council
supports the fundamental principles of:
·
Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, which recognizes the right of persons to seek asylum from persecution
in other countries, and the
·
1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to
the Status of Refugees.
3. The Council
is concerned that the UK government’s proposed New plan for Immigration does not uphold the principles outlined above, and objects to the criminalisation of the act of seeking
refuge.
The member set out
the context to her motion, noting that:
·
She was extremely pleased that this Council had been so willing to step
in to offer a home for refugees from Afghanistan, and this was the right thing to
do, in principle and morally.
·
It was also important that we recognised the generosity of the county's
residents, who had contributed goods and substantial funds via voluntary
organisations in the county for the refugees.
·
The Westminster
Government did not view the situation in the same way, and that was why the
Council had been asked to take a step further, and to recognise the fundamental
right to flee, as defined by the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol.
·
These rights were at risk of being undermined by the UK Government's New
Plan for Immigration and the Nationality and Borders Bill, which had already
had its first reading.
·
Labelling refugees as
offenders would not help the situation, and even more so, it was immoral and
set a terrifying precedent regarding the way we treated our fellow man. It was an attempt to tear society apart and
to turn a person in need against another, and we had to reject it.
These observations
were reiterated by another member, and an amendment
to the motion was proposed,
namely that the Council also expressed
its gratitude to the residents of Gwynedd for their immense generosity,
and their willingness to support refugees over the years, and to the county's voluntary organisations such as Pobl i
Bobl, Croeso Menai and Cefn for
their exceptional work in this
field. The amendment was seconded.
The proposer of the
original proposal and the seconder agreed to amend the proposal on these
grounds with the Council’s consent.
Enthusiastic support was expressed for the amendment
by many members.
RESOLVED to adopt the amendment, namely:
1. That this Council wishes
to declare a warm welcome to refugees from Afghanistan who have recently, or will shortly, be arriving in Gwynedd.
2. This Council supports
the fundamental principles
of:
·
Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, which recognizes the right of persons to seek asylum from persecution
in other countries, and the
·
1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to
the Status of Refugees.
3. The Council is concerned that the UK government’s proposed New plan for Immigration does not uphold the principles outlined above, and objects to the criminalisation of the act of seeking
refuge.
4. This Council expresses its gratitude to the residents of Gwynedd for their immense generosity,
and their willingness to support refugees over the years, and to the county's voluntary organisations such as Pobl i
Bobl, Croeso Menai and Cefn for
their exceptional work in this
field.