UNHCR welcomes Ireland's pledge for Syrians

The UN Refugee Agency has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald, that 111 people from Syria will be granted permission to enter Ireland and join their family members here. The Syrians will be admitted under the Syrian Humanitarian Admission Programme (SHAP) established earlier this year. 

In addition to the SHAP programme, 90 Syrian refugees are being resettled into Ireland this year with a further 220 refugees arriving in 2015 and 2016, the majority of whom are expected to be Syrian.

The announcement comes as UNHCR hosts a Ministerial-Level Pledging Conference in Geneva on Tuesday 9 December on resettlement and other forms of admission for Syrian refugees. UNHCR has appealed to States to admit 130,000 Syrians under such schemes by the end of 2016. To date, there have been almost 42,000 confirmed pledges plus an additional number from the USA. 

“The Irish resettlement and SHAP programmes will help to provide solutions for vulnerable Syrians fleeing conflict and to assist in the reunification of families with relatives already in Ireland” said Sophie Magennis, Head of Office with UNHCR Ireland.

“With over 3 million Syrians forced to become refugees the need is great. UNHCR is appealing to all States and to the international community to provide additional and long-term solutions for Syrian refugees who are most urgently in need. The conference in Geneva on Tuesday 9 December is an opportunity for all States to look at additional means of giving vulnerable Syrians a chance to rebuild their lives and seek protection.”

UNHCR understands there were applications for 308 Syrians under the SHAP. UNHCR would encourage the authorities and other entities to see if additional avenues might be available for admissions to Ireland. Other initiatives might include study visas or the issuance of work permits for Syrians fleeing the three and a half year old conflict in their country. UNHCR is in contact with Irish universities to look at ways in which Syrian students may be offered access to courses here.

All such admission programmes should, at a minimum, provide access to basic services and psychological and medical care, and facilitate the identification of adequate accommodation that protects the refugees’ well-being.

For more information, please see here:

Note to Editors: 

About Resettlement
Resettlement is the transfer of refugees from a State in which they have sought protection to a third State that has agreed to admit them as refugees with permanent residence. Ireland has an annual resettlement programme and is a long standing resettlement partner.

In 2013, 31 refugees from Syria were resettled in Ireland. Another 90 are being resettled in 2014, with 220 expected to arrive in 2015 and 2016.

Ireland’s resettlement programme has included the admission of refugees with urgent medical needs, with 3 such cases arriving so far in 2014. 

About SHAP
The Irish authorities set up the Syrian Humanitarian Programme in March 2014. Applications closed at the end of April 2014, with a total of 94 applications received from Syrian family members in Ireland in respect of 308 persons.

You can read more about the launch of the SHAP programme here:
http://www.unhcr.ie/news/irish-story/unhcr-statement-on-the-announcemen…

About Syrians in Ireland

72 Syrians have arrived in Ireland since 2011 and claimed asylum (to September 2014). 58 have been granted refugee status by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner.

About the UNHCR Pledging Conference
UNHCR is convening a ministerial-level pledging conference on resettlement and other forms of admission for Syrian Refugees on 9 December 2014 in Geneva, which will provide States with the opportunity to make further commitments to meet the growing needs of Syrian refugees. 

States may pledge to receive Syrian refugees through resettlement or other forms of admission, such as humanitarian admission, humanitarian visas, private sponsorship, scholarships for students, expanded opportunities for family reunification, and medical evacuation. UNHCR has developed guidance on pledging, providing more information about these forms of admission, the key protection principles that should undergird such initiatives, and examples of pledges, which can be viewed here

UNHCR has called for states to resettle 30,000 Syrian refugees from 2013 to 2014 and an additional 100,000 Syrian refugees from 2015 to 2016. Resettlement and other forms of admission are critical to ensuring protection and solutions for the most vulnerable.

The development of these avenues also helps to provide safe legal alternatives to perilous irregular secondary movements by land and sea, which are currently affecting several countries around the Mediterranean and further afield.

About UNHCR
UNHCR is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. UNHCR is headquartered in Geneva and has maintained a presence in Ireland since 1998. In Ireland, UNHCR supervises the implementation of the 1951 Refugee Convention, provides support and assistance to the Irish asylum determination bodies and runs a resettlement programme together with the Irish authorities.

For more information, please contact Jody Clarke, External Relations Associate, on 01 631 4614 or [email protected]