Counter-Daesh Update Debate
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Janet Daby
Main Page: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)Department Debates - View all Janet Daby's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Counter-Daesh Update
Janet Daby Excerpts(5 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Hunt
My hon. Friend makes an important point. We are helping to train the Peshmerga at the moment. My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa was in Baghdad and Erbil just two weeks ago, and he met President Salih and Prime Minister Mahdi to talk about that important reconciliation and inclusion of the Kurds in the reconciliation process.
Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)
Due to this conflict, approximately 5.5 million Syrian people have become refugees and undergone experiences that are very difficult for us to imagine. Half of those people are children. In the borough of Lewisham, we have made a commitment to be a sanctuary borough for Syrian refugees. How many refugees have we received in the UK, and what is our target?
Mr Hunt
I believe that over 14,000 Syrian refugees have come to the UK. We should also pay tribute to neighbouring countries such as Iraq, which has 250,000 Syrian refugees. That is an important reason why we as a country must have a humane policy when it comes to asylum seekers.