LONDON
A leading human rights organization says Britain's pledge to resettle several hundred Syrian refugees is "long overdue," but added that it should inspire other countries to take similar action.
Amnesty International said in a statement Wednesday that the decision to take in some of Syria's most vulnerable should "encourage wider action on resettlement by the international community", particularly by "European" and "Gulf" countries.
The British government announced Wednesday that it will open its doors to several hundred of Syria's "most vulnerable".
Sherif Elsayed-Ali, the organization's Head of Refugee and Migrants' Rights, said Wednesday that the pledge was "long overdue", but should be widely welcomed as a positive and an important first step.
"Syria's deepening refugee crisis is one of the worst humanitarian disasters of our time," he said. "One way to reduce further suffering is for countries across the world to open their doors and share responsibility for the protection of refugees, which is largely shouldered by countries neighbouring Syria."
According to UN figures, there were 2.4 million Syrian refugees in late 2013 - almost five times the amount recorded in the previous year.
Many are located in camps in Turkey, and in other countries around Syria's borders.
Back in December 2013, an Amnesty International report stated that 18 European Union countries - including the UK - had not made resettlement pledges and it stated: "European leaders should hang their heads in shame for not letting more Syrian refugees into their countries".
The UK government's resettlement program is backed by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), who will be helping the UK identify those most in need, on a case-by-case basis.
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