An alternative approach to refugee resettlement: assessing the United Kingdom’s community sponsorship scheme through the prism of the Canadian private sponsorship program

Abstract

The number of refugees in the world over the last few years has been constantly increasing. The response of developed European countries that have the greatest resettlement capacities and at the same time the greatest moral duty to resettle refugees has been very underwhelming so far. In the near future, their response is unlikely going to change. Clearly, innovative resettlement solutions are needed in order to motivate governments to start doing more in this area. This thesis focuses on Canada’s unique approach to refugee resettlement that allowed them to successfully resettle refugees through the private sector for more than 40 years. It is revolved around promoting their successful experience as a new solution for refugee resettlement systems in Europe. Last year, United Kingdom launched a resettlement scheme that is based on the Canadian model. I decided to analyze their new scheme through the prism of the Canadian experience in order to draw parallels and conclusions that will serve as a successful model and inspiration for other European countries.