Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to encourage LGBTI refugees in Lebanon to apply for resettlement in the UK.

Richard Harrington

We are clear that our scheme will prioritise the most vulnerable refugees, and that is why under the VPR scheme the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies refugees for resettlement using its established vulnerability criteria. These include persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

We are working with UNHCR and other partners to intensify their outreach to groups that might otherwise be reluctant to register for fear of stigma/discrimination and unaware of the safe space and options available to them. This includes all religious minorities, LGBTI, people with disabilities, survivors of torture and sexual violence and others.