Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage the international community to house refugees from the north of Africa.

We believe resettlement of refugees should be a matter for individual countries. Resettlement has a place as part of the wider asylum process, including as a route for particularly vulnerable refugees, but resettlement of all refugees in North Africa is not practical and could not meet the needs of all genuine refugees. It also would not address the reasons for their flight and risks increasing concentrations of illegal migrants in North Africa. The only sustainable solution is to address the drivers of illegal migration: increasing stability and supporting the development of countries of origin; increasing the capacity of countries in the region to protect refugees so they may return home when circumstances permit; establishing a more effective process of returning illegal migrants; and cracking down on the ruthless criminals who are playing so callously with human lives.