Britain must show concern over economic migrants at Calais as well as refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war, Diane Abbott said today.
The shadow overseas aid secretary told delegates in Brighton that “barbed wire, armed troops and letting people drown” was not the solution.
“Many of those people attempting to cross the Mediterranean or in the camp at Calais are economic migrants fleeing desperate poverty,” she said. “It is right to face our responsibilities to refugees.” But she stressed that economic migrants were “people too”.
She said promoting growth and prosperity overseas were key to slowing the flows of economic migration.
Ms Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, also emphasised the need for “woman-centred” development policies. One in three women around the world will experience gender-based violence in her life, she said, including female genital mutilation.
“The test of the next Labour government’s development policies will not just be getting money out of the door or how many highly paid consultants we employ, but how we change the lives of women in some of the world’s poorest countries,” she added.
