Refugee Council and others say UK must share responsibilities in hosting refugees and guaranteeing their humane treatment
The Refugee Council yesterday joined Amnesty International and a number of other NGOs to call for a more "humane and honest" immigration discussion in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the EU.
In a joint letter to the Times newspaper, the charities said they had been dismayed by the increasingly divisive debate on immigration during the referendum campaign.
"Now the UK has voted for Brexit, we call for a national discussion on immigration that is humane and honest, not based on fear or misinformation," the letter said.
The letter continued: "On refugees and asylum-seekers, we believe UK policy should stand for three core principles. Firstly, help more refugees find safety in the UK without having to risk their lives in the hands of people smugglers. Secondly, restore trust in the asylum system so all get a fair hearing and access the protection they need. Thirdly, support refugees to rebuild their lives, without fear of return to a place where their lives are at risk.
"Even 'out', Britain must work with European states to share responsibilities in hosting refugees and guaranteeing their humane treatment. Previous British leaders helped establish the international laws protecting people fleeing violence and persecution. Unravelling those protections for the world's most vulnerable would be a travesty. Britain is better than that."
News media have reported a rise in racial abuse following Britain's vote for a Brexit.
CNN quoted Conservative politician Baroness Sayeeda Warsi as saying: "I've spent most of the weekend talking to organizations, individuals and activists who work in the area of race hate crime, who monitor hate crime and they have shown some really disturbing early results from people being stopped in the street and saying look, we voted Leave, it's time for you to leave. They're saying this to individuals and families who have been here for three, four, five generations. The atmosphere on the street is not good."
Prime Minster David Cameron yesterday condemned the attacks, saying in the Commons: "In the past few days we have seen despicable graffiti daubed on a Polish community centre, we've seen verbal abuse hurled against individuals because they are members of ethnic minorities.
"Let's remember these people have come here and made a wonderful contribution to our country. We will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks, they must be stamped out."