Asylum Seekers: Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina

Lord Dubs Excerpts

Wednesday 18th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My noble friend was absolutely right to set out at the beginning that people must be treated as human beings and with respect and dignity at all stages; that is something that Her Majesty’s Government reinforce forcefully. On her point about aid, we are also very generous. We have provided £500,000 through our own Conflict, Stability and Security Fund to support communities and authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina hosting migrants and refugees.

[Lord Dubs (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, the Minister has referred to the abuses of refugees and migrants on the Croatian border. Will the Government make representations to the European Commission, which has been using a small fund to keep under surveillance abuses at the border—a fund to which we contributed when we were a member of the EU? Will we please raise this issue internationally, as widely as possible? These abuses are quite shocking.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Yes, my Lords, we make these representations both bilaterally with the countries involved and through multilateral organisations—not just the EU but the International Organization for Migration, the UNHCR and other fora. The European Commission and the European Parliament are both taking an increasingly involved approach to this issue, which is welcome. Indeed, as part of the Croatian EU presidency in the first half of this year, there was a ministerial conference on the challenges of illegal migration, which is important in this regard.