Safe asylum routes for Afghan refugees – Barry Gardiner.
Lord Evans of Weardale: To ask His Majesty's Government whether former members of the Afghan Special Police Commando Force 333 benefit from the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy; and if not, why not.
Lord Evans of Weardale: To ask His Majesty's Government how many former members of the Afghan Special Police Commando Force 333 have applied to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy; and how many have been rejected.
Lord Alderdice: ...: that overwhelming physical and military force is no longer of itself effective in wars. The United States and its allies have involved themselves in a whole series of wars, from Vietnam through Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, and none has had a successful outcome, despite all the resources made available. In fact, “All have made the situation worse”.—[Official Report, 16/10/19;...
the Bishop of Durham: Given the time, can the Minister write to me on the specific question I asked about the Afghan scheme?
Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the effectiveness of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.
Leo Docherty: The UK Government strongly condemns the Taliban's decision to ban Afghan women from working for the UN and NGOs in Afghanistan, including through an unanimously agreed UN Security Council Resolution on the 27 April, a G7 joint Foreign Ministers' statement on 8 March and G7 Leaders Communiqué on 20 May. We continue to work with the international community in pushing for women and girls'...
Baroness Smith of Newnham: My Lords, from these Benches, I agree wholeheartedly with many of the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman, about the debt we owe to the Afghans who served with us, which is noted in the Statement that the Minister just repeated. We need to reiterate that, because the Statement in many ways is almost like a Home Office document: “Right, we’ve got this issue, we’ve relocated...
Jane Hutt: ..., and our local authorities, to adequately deliver on the various schemes, and acknowledge the long-standing support. Yes, we need safe and legal routes. We have safe, legal routes with the Afghan and Ukrainian support, and we did with Syria. We need those safe and legal routes, and I welcome your support and backing, I'm sure, from across the Chamber, to ensure that we can continue to...
Luke Pollard: I thank the Minister for advance sight of the statement. Today’s statement is, though, a continuation of a shameful saga of Government failure when it comes to the Afghans who served alongside our forces in Afghanistan. The Minister has come here today looking for a pat on the back for booting people out of hotels, but he fundamentally misunderstands that across this House we gave a...
Leo Docherty: The UK Government condemns the restrictions the Taliban have imposed on Afghan women and girls. Without the full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls, Afghanistan will not achieve sustainable economic and political development. Ministers and officials engage regularly with Afghan women from civil society organisations. Through our Conflict, Stability and...
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2023 to Question 195655 on Afghanistan: Refugees, if she will publish the data her Department holds on how many (a) principals and (b) dependents have been relocated to the UK under the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (i) Pathway 2 and (ii) Pathway 3 as of 1 September 2023.
Peter Bottomley: Will my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House arrange for the right person in government to contact me about the Afghan for whom I have been trying to work for the last nearly two years? I have approached the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence, but have received nothing useful or helpful back, so could the right person approach me? I have received the following...
James Heappey: The ARAP scheme provides relocation or other assistance specifically to Afghan nationals who worked for or alongside UK forces in support of the UK's mission in Afghanistan, as set out in the specific eligibility criteria in the ARAP policy. Members of the Afghan national security forces such as Commando Force 333 - whilst their efforts heroic - are not automatically in scope for relocation...
James Heappey: ..., we have relocated over 12,200 individuals under the ARAP scheme to the UK. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of these figures by job role or specific unit. Not all members of the Afghan Armed Forces, including specific units such as Commando Force 333 will automatically be eligible for ARAP. However, we are prioritising finding remaining eligible applications who are awaiting a...
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September to Question 195657 on Afghanistan: Refugees, on what exact date the first cohort of Afghan people arrive in the UK under (a) Pathway 2 and (b) Pathway 3 under the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme.
Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to ensure that people from Hazara communities are able to access the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.
Leo Docherty: The Government is firmly committed to supporting an inclusive political settlement in Afghanistan. Such a settlement will enable the Afghan people to live in lasting peace and security. We have made clear to the Taliban that they need to enter into a genuine intra-Afghan political dialogue, in order to make progress towards reaching a political settlement. We have encouraged them to engage...
Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have travelled to the UK from Afghanistan every month not through official schemes since the (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (b) Afghan citizens resettlement schemes opened.
Tan Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan people who acted as interpreters for the British military remain in Afghanistan as of 6 September 2023.
