In response to a Freedom of Information request from Barnabas Fund (BF), the UK Home Office released figures on Syrian refugees resettled in the UK for the first quarter of 2018.
The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) recommended 1,358 Syrian refugees for resettlement in the UK of which only four were Christians, representing a tiny fraction of just 0.29%. The Home Office agreed to resettle 1,112 of these (82%), all of whom were Muslims, and refused all recommendations of Christians for resettlement.
Of the 7,060 Syrian refugees the UNHCR recommended to the UK in 2017 only 25 were Christians (0.35%). However, the Home Office only accepted 11 of these – meaning that Christians made up only 0.23% of Syrian refugees resettled in the UK last year.
Considerable lengths
For the last 18 months, BF has had to go to considerable lengths to obtain the figures in the face of what appeared to be a sustained attempt by Home Office officials to avoid their release. After prolonged delays, the BF took the step of obtaining an order from the Information Commissioner’s Office threatening the Home Office with contempt of court proceedings in the High Court.
It is widely accepted that Christians, who constituted around 10% of Syria’s pre-war population, were specifically targeted by jihadi rebels and continue to be at risk. The data shows evidence of discrimination that the government has a legal duty to take concrete steps to address.
