One week after 4 people seeking safety died in a shipwreck in the Channel, civil society organisations and activists from the UK, France, Belgium, and beyond, including Right to Remain, have come together to remember those who died and call for an immediate end to the hostile environment facing migrants on both sides of the Channel.

You can read the joint statement in full on the JCWI webpage here.

The statement includes the following:

We don’t need any more empty comments from the French and UK governments mourning these deaths. Both governments must take action and end the hostile environment for people on the move on both sides of the Channel. Until then, our migration and asylum systems will continue to function exactly as they were designed – to create devastation and cruelty. We are thankful for the actions of rescuers and all those involved in supporting people on the move, yet we acknowledge these are only palliative measures to a broken system made to oppress people. We need the freedom to move and access to safe routes to cross borders now, more than ever, to prevent more detentions, deportations, and deaths.