Syrian asylum seekers need our support. In response to the fall of the Assad regime, governments across Europe – including the UK – have suspended processing of Syrians’ asylum applications in response to the fall of the Assad regime. The Austrian government has even threatened mass deportations. Take action in solidarity with refugees and asylum seekers: join the protest, and pass the motion in your union branch or local Labour party – see below for all info.

The end of Assad’s brutal dictatorship is welcome, but the situation in Syria remains unstable, and the struggles for peace, freedom, equality, secularism and democracy are far from complete. The UK government itself acknowledges that the situation in Syria is not safe. The Foreign Office advises against all travel there, and the Foreign Secretary stated “Assad’s demise brings no guarantee of peace. This is a moment of danger as well as opportunity.” Crucially, the reasons behind individual asylum applications are varied and are not all due solely to the Assad regime.

Moreover, many asylum applicants have already been trapped in limbo for months or years. Many asylum applicants are barred from working, forced to subsist on £8.86 per week, and warehoused inhumanely in barracks and overcrowded hotels. This suspension means they are trapped for even longer. We need to reiterate our demand that asylum seekers must have day-one equal access to work, social security and housing. They must be freed from the impoverishment the UK asylum system forces on them.

On 13 December, Asylum Matters and over 200 other organisations wrote to the Home Secretary, urging her to reverse the suspension. The suspension of asylum processing is inhumane; contradicts the government’s own assessment of the situation in Syria; and sets a dangerous precedent of blanket treatment of entire nationalities. It is a cowardly concession to racist, anti-refugee agitators, which will only further fuel and empower the bigoted far-right. A Labour government should stand for humanity and solidarity.

Below are two actions you can take: join the protest this Saturday 28 December in London; and pass our model motion in your local Labour party or trade union branch. If there are asylum rights protests in other cities that we can help spread the word about, let us know!

Stand with Syrian Refugees: Protest Against Injustice

1-3pm Saturday 28 December 2024
Outside 10 Downing Street, London (map)
Organised by Syria Solidarity Campaign (more info)

✊ Stop treating Syrian refugees in inhumane ways.
✊ End the suspension of asylum applications for Syrians.
✊ Recognise that Syria remains unsafe for forced returns.

Bring union, Labour and campaign banners to show that the labour movement stands with Syrian refugees!

Model motion: “Protect Syrian asylum seekers”

This branch/CLP notes:

  1. Our government has suspended processing of Syrian asylum seeker claims in response to the fall of the Assad regime.
  2. Yet the government acknowledges the situation in Syria is not safe. The Foreign Office advises against all travel there. The Foreign Secretary stated “Assad’s demise brings no guarantee of peace. This is a moment of danger as well as opportunity.”
  3. The reasons behind individual asylum applications are varied and not only due to the Assad regime.
  4. On 13 December, Asylum Matters and over 200 other organisations wrote to the Home Secretary, urging her to reverse the suspension1.
  5. Many asylum applicants have already been trapped in limbo for years due to the backlog engineered by the last Tory government. This suspension extends their pain. Many are banned from working, forced to subsist on £8.86 per week, and warehoused in barracks and hotels.

This branch/CLP believes:

  1. We welcome the end of Assad’s brutal dictatorship. Our solidarity is with those people in Syria who are working to win a future of peace, freedom, equality, secularism and democracy.
  2. The suspension of asylum processing is inhumane; contradicts the government’s own assessment of the situation in Syria; and sets a dangerous precedent of blanket treatment of entire nationalities.
  3. It is a cowardly concession to racist, anti-refugee agitators. It will only further fuel and empower the bigoted far-right. A Labour government should stand for humanity and solidarity.

This branch/CLP resolves:

  1. To write to our MP and the Home Secretary (copying in Asylum Matters2 and the Labour Campaign for Free Movement3), demanding that the government:
    1. Immediately end the suspension;
    2. Grant all people seeking asylum day-one equal access to work and social security, to free them from limbo and impoverishment;
    3. Commit to no forced or coercive removals of Syrians in the UK.

[1] https://asylummatters.org/2024/12/14/joint-letter-to-the-home-secretary-syrian-asylum-claims/
[2] info@asylummatters.org
[3] info@labourfreemovement.org