Article by Ewelina Ochab (legal researcher and human rights advocate): Shouldn’t Survivors of Genocide Be Treated Differently?

An article on the Huffington Post from 2017 by legal researcher and human rights advocate Ewelina Ochab highlights the struggles of Yezidis to gain asylum in the UK and the disparities between different ethnic groups.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ewelina-u-ochab/genocide-survival_b_18523870.html

‘According to the research [by the UNHCR], out of 2,637 Syrians recommended for resettlement to the UK by the UNHCR in 2015, only 57 of them identified as religious minorities persecuted in Syria: 43 were Christians, 1 was Shia Muslim, and 13 were Yazidis. The individuals who were eventually resettled by the UK government in 2015 totalled 1,194 Syrians. Of those, 41 individuals belonged to religious minorities: 40 Christians, 1 Shia Muslim, and 0 Yazidis.

The figures were even lower in 2016. 7,499 Syrians were recommended for resettlement to the UK by the UNHCR. Only 45 individuals belonged to religious minorities: 27 were Christians, 13 Shia, and 5 Yazidis. From a total of 4,369 Syrians eventually resettled in the UK, 60 individuals belonged to religious minorities: 20 Christians, 12 Shia Muslims, 18 Yazidis, 6 Druze, and 4 Eastern Orthodox. ‘

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