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Helen Bamber Foundation is extremely concerned that the UK government has decided to suspend decision making in Syrian asylum cases. The government is in no position to assume the safety of individuals in such a volatile and developing situation. Helen Bamber Foundation has supported survivors who were tortured by sectarian militias and who would have feared both Bashar al-Assad and sectarian militias, such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The reasons for Syrian nationals claiming asylum in the UK are multi-faceted, complex and in no way limited solely to the atrocities committed by the Assad regime.

We are horrified and extremely concerned about the far-right racist attacks on asylum hotels and violence against people seeking asylum, refugees, migrants, and minority communities, particularly Muslims. These disturbing images and threats of more organised attacks are taking a huge toll on the mental health of the people we work with – those who have survived some of the worst forms of human cruelty and have arrived in the UK in hope of finding protection.

As we head towards a General Election, we are proud to have added our name to the Fair Begins Here promise from the coalition campaign Together With Refugees.

We are dismayed at the passing of the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which declares Rwanda to be ‘safe’ despite the opposite finding by the Supreme Court, and in doing so allows the UK government to put people seeking asylum at great risk by sending them there.

Last week, the Home Office shamefully discredited the findings of our report, written jointly with Humans for Rights Network, which provided detailed evidence of the irreparable and profound harm caused to residents housed in the asylum camp at Wethersfield airfield.

As representatives of medical humanitarian and healthcare organisations, we call on the government to urgently abandon its plans to push through its ‘Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill’, which risks exposing men, women, including pregnant women, and children to irreparable harm.

We are appalled that the government is continuing to push the Safety of Rwanda Bill through the House of Commons. Those who could be sent to Rwanda include people who have endured the worst of human cruelty in their countries of origin or during their arduous journeys to the UK, or often both. It is inhumane to send them to a third country which they know nothing about, and which has a track record of human rights abuses. This includes sending people back to countries where they were persecuted.

We are deeply saddened at the news that a man died by suicide on the Bibby Stockholm Barge. We are however not surprised. This was as predictable as it was tragic.

Many survivors, who have already endured terrible exploitation and abuse, have struggled to get the secure status and support they need. However, new information about a Home Office secret policy and u-turn on previous commitments have shown just how bad the situation has got.

The government has been pushing the use of X-ray and MRI scans to find out the age of young people seeking asylum. NGOs and medical bodies have raised serious concerns that these so-called ‘scientific methods’ are not just inaccurate but potentially harmful.

Despite mounting opposition, the government remains determined to house people seeking asylum in large scale ‘accommodation centres’ on former military bases, causing significant harm to those who have already survived arduous journeys to reach the UK.

As a coalition of 290 organisations we condemn the passage of the Illegal Migration Act, and stand in solidarity with all who will be affected.