In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of
the Constitution, Councillor Elin Walker Jones will propose as follows:-
Wales has a laudable ambition of being the first Nation
of Sanctuary in the World. Gwynedd has
acted in line with this ambition by offering sanctuary to refugees from across
the world. Despite the ambition of
Wales, the Westminster Government is introducing an Illegal Migration Act which
endangers the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and criminalises the act of
reaching the British Isles in search of asylum.
This conflicts with the principles of the Refugees Convention 1951, and
our ambition here in Wales. In
considering the fear that the UK Government’s unwelcoming messages may create,
I call on this Council to confirm its ambition to assist refugees, in order to alleviate some of this fear.
Decision:
Wales has a
praiseworthy ambition of being the first Nation of Sanctuary in the World. Gwynedd has acted in line with this ambition
by offering sanctuary to refugees from across the world. Despite the ambition of Wales, the
Westminster Government are introducing an Illegal Migration Act which endangers
the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and criminalises the act of reaching
the British Isles in search of asylum.
This conflicts against the principles of the Refugees Convention 1951,
and our ambition here in Wales.
Considering the fear that the unwelcome messages of the UK Government
can trigger, this Council confirms its ambition of assisting refugees, in order to mitigate some of this fear.
Minutes:
(A)
The following notice of motion was submitted by Councillor Elin Walker
Jones, in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution and it was seconded.
Wales has a laudable
ambition of being the first Nation of Sanctuary in the World. Gwynedd has acted in line with this ambition
by offering sanctuary to refugees from across the world. Despite the ambition of Wales, the
Westminster Government are introducing an Illegal Migration Act which endangers
the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and criminalises the act of reaching
the British Isles in search of asylum.
This conflicts with the principles of the Refugees Convention 1951, and
our ambition here in Wales. Considering
the fear that the unwelcome messages of the UK Government may create, this
Council confirms its ambition to assist refugees, in order to
alleviate some of this fear.
The member set out the context to her motion,
noting that:
·
That we, in 2023, are
still living in a cruel world, that is full of injustice and violence, despite
the United Nations Statement on Human Rights call for freedom, justice and
world peace.
·
That Article 14 stated
that everyone had the right to seek and to receive sanctuary from persecution
in other countries.
·
Nevertheless, the
United Kingdom had introduced policies over the years to make it less
attractive for asylum seekers to come to Britain, including barriers on being
able to work and apply for benefits, and holding asylum seekers in retention
centres where they have no status or any idea when their application will be
processed.
·
That the stories of individuals
showed that this caused stress, depression and anxiety and even physical and
mental health problems, bearing in mind that asylum seekers were already
vulnerable.
·
The
Illegal Migration Bill would make things worse for these vulnerable people, but
the new legislation would not prevent refugees from fleeing, or seeking asylum,
or coming to Britain, and the numbers would continue to increase.
·
That people seek asylum
in the UK as people spoke English, or possibly they already had family or
friends here.
·
That the new
legislation referred to sending people back to their homeland, but even the
Westminster Government acknowledged that asylum seekers could not often be sent
back to their country, as it was not safe for them to return.
·
That the legislation referred
to sending people who cannot return to their homeland to Rwanda, but the system
had not yet commenced, and what about Rwanda's capacity to receive the asylum
seekers?
·
If asylum seekers could
not return home, or go to Rwanda, they would be kept in retention centres in
the United Kingdom (which are already over-full), without status, without a
hope of their asylum application being processed, without a safe place to call
home, without an adequate place to live or sleep, without sufficient health care,
and that for an unspecified period of time.
·
That we in Wales had an
ambition of being a nation of sanctuary, and we in Gwynedd have a long
tradition of extending a warm welcome to asylum seekers.
·
We know about people
who have fled from violence, torture and indeed, fled death, and who have
reached the shores of the British Isles in search of members of their families,
for work, for accommodation and for a new life. We are proud in Gwynedd that we
have, and continue, to support our fellow man from countries such as Syria,
Afghanistan, Ukraine, etc. and we have voluntary organisations in Gwynedd that
support people, such as Croeso Menai, Pobl i Bobl,
Cefn, etc.
·
Despite our
praiseworthy ambition in Wales, which values the lives of all individuals, the
Illegal Migration Act, which is currently being debated at Westminster, is
inhumane, cruel and causes further trauma to people who have already
experienced horrific trauma. This new legislation is contrary to our
aspirations as the people of Gwynedd, and as the people of Wales.
·
That she called on her
fellow councillors to support the motion and show their objection to this cruel
and inhumane legislation.
Many other members expressed support to the notice.
A member noted that the subject highlighted the fact
that it was perfectly acceptable to the UK Government and the media to tarnish
migration by the most deprived, but people cannot dare condemn migration by the
economically privileged, who affect areas such as Gwynedd.
RESOLVED to adopt the motion, namely:-
Wales has a laudable
ambition of being the first Nation of Sanctuary in the World. Gwynedd has acted in line with this ambition
by offering sanctuary to refugees from across the world. Despite the ambition of Wales, the
Westminster Government is introducing an Illegal Migration Act which endangers
the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and criminalises the act of reaching
the British Isles in search of asylum.
This conflicts with the principles of the Refugees Convention 1951, and
our ambition here in Wales. In considering the fear that the UK Government’s
unwelcoming messages may create, this Council confirms its ambition to assist
refugees, in order to alleviate some of this fear.