The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for human rights during war time. In 2015, the news brand launched a campaign calling for Britain to take its fair share of refugees fleeing war and persecution.
Politicians, celebrities and members of the public supported a petition to the then prime minister David Cameron, which came amid outrage over of a now infamous image of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, washed up dead on a Turkish beach.
In 2021, The Independent launched a petition urging the UK government to be more ambitious in its plans to take in Afghan refugees following the Taliban seizing power and withdrawal of western troops.The ‘Refugees Welcome’ campaign backed calls by charities for Downing Street to re-settle those who fear for their lives under the Taliban regime.
Then, in 2022, the news brand relaunched its ‘Refugees Welcome’ campaign, calling for the UK government to set up a resettlement scheme, without the need for visas, to give Ukrainians fleeing the invasion sanctuary in Britain.
It also launched a campaign urging readers to make donations, with money being given to beneficiaries such as the Red Cross both in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries where refugees are sheltering.
The publisher has had significant success with its wartime campaigns. Nearly 400,000 people signed the first Refugees Welcome and David Cameron went on to announce that 20,000 Syrian refugees would be resettled in the UK by 2020.
Its 2022 campaign saw £100,000 raised in less than a week, with the funds going straight to organisations helping those fleeing warzones.
