Refugees: Calais

(asked on 14th December 2015) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has made to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees with regards to the Calais refugee camp.


Answered by
James Brokenshire Portrait
James Brokenshire
This question was answered on 18th December 2015

The management of the migrant camps in Calais is the responsibility of the French Government. This includes decisions on whether to involve any particular organisation in the camps’ management.

The UK Government notes however the welcome given by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the joint declaration to address the issues in Calais signed by the UK and France on 20 August 2015. The UNHCR welcomed the plan to move migrants away from Calais to suitable facilities elsewhere in France and the effort to identify those vulnerable to trafficking, particularly women and children. Both Governments agree with the UNHCR that Calais is a symptom of the wider migration issue facing Europe, which must be addressed.

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