The Prime Minister has made a promise to Syrian refugees: help us make sure he keeps it.

Freedom from Torture welcomes the affirmation of support for the principle of refugee protection and the Prime Minister's pledge that 20,000 Syrian refugees will be resettled in the UK over the next five years.

However, we are very conscious that our challenge is now to make sure the Prime Minister turns his pledge into action urgently.

As long as Syrian torture survivors languish in the refugee camps they will have very little hope of accessing the support they need to recover from the trauma they have suffered.

We want to make sure more of these torture survivors are resettled in the UK promptly and that when they arrive, they obtain specialist support to overcome the psychological and physical impacts of torture as soon as possible – particularly where they are unaccompanied children and young people.

We want to make sure more of these torture survivors are resettled in the UK promptly and that when they arrive, they obtain specialist support to overcome the psychological and physical impacts of torture as soon as possible – particularly where they are unaccompanied children and young people.

We are now talking to the Home Office about how resettlement of Syrian survivors can take place as soon as possible and we will be calling for local authorities to have sufficient resources to support torture survivors in their community on an ongoing basis.

As the only charity dedicated to the treatment and support of torture survivors seeking refuge in the UK we will be working alongside the Home Office to share our specialist expertise ensuring:

  • Those working for UN High Commission for Refugees who have the task of identifying those eligible for resettlement have the necessary resources to identify and assess survivors of torture promptly
  • Torture survivors who are resettled in the UK will be able to obtain the psychotherapeutic and physical services they need for their rehabilitation, whether directly from us or other suitable providers; and have the welfare support we know is crucial their rehabilitation
  • All agencies and professionals working with torture survivors in the UK have the resources to support them effectively.

Your support is vital to help us meet these challenges, and we are very grateful for your fund-raising, donations and awareness-raising of our work.

We will of course also continue to call for more resettlement of survivors of all torturing states who are refugees or otherwise displaced, and for improved rehabilitation and welfare support for those who are resettled in the UK.

Thank you for your support. It will make this vital work possible. Let's work together to keep the PM to his word on behalf of all refugees who are survivors of torture.