The United Kingdom’s new resettlement scheme for Afghan refugees will help those who “have contributed to civil society” according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
While he did not go into specifics, the prime minister appeared to distinguish between Afghans involved in civil society and other types of vulnerable groups who are now at risk of Taliban retribution.
The “Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme,” run by the Home Office, will accept 5,000 refugees in its first year and 20,000 overall.
It will include “Afghans who contributed to civil society or who face a particular risk from the Taliban, for example, because of their role in standing up for democracy, and human rights or because of their gender and sexuality or religion,” Johnson told members of Parliament Monday.
Aid organizations struggle with UK rules for evacuating Afghan workers
As the situation in Kabul worsens, Afghan development workers say they are in hiding — but the U.K. scheme for resettling people who supported its efforts in the country may be failing many of them.
He said the U.K. would “work with the U.N. and aid agencies to identify those we should help, [as we did] for those who fled the war in Syria.”
The prime minister did not provide any further detail on who the scheme might accept, and precise data on how many Afghans are at risk due to their involvement with development work is unavailable.
But advocates believe there could be potentially thousands of Afghans who worked on U.K. aid-funded development projects in the country and are at risk. There has been particular concern for those who were subcontracted, rather than directly employed by the British government, as they were not eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. The Taliban does not recognize differences in the employment status of Afghan development workers — consisting of many different types — who are at risk of retribution, according to experts.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper raised concerns with Johnson over rumors that the new Afghan resettlement scheme has seen cases transferred from ARAP, and that there is already a shortage of places within it. Johnson denied both claims, saying: “The ARAP places have not been transferred, they continue to be valid, people on ARAP continue to be eligible.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the U.K. stood by “our commitment to support those who have worked for us, and to take all remaining eligible cases. Securing their safe passage out of the country is an immediate priority.” He added that the government was “working through our diplomatic channels to that end” and that the “Taliban have given assurances that they will provide safe passage for foreign nationals and those eligible Afghans who wish to leave.”
He added that the U.K. "will not recognize the Taliban" but would "engage and ... carefully calibrate our actions to the choices they make and the actions that they take."
Raab said he and his ministers had been engaging with countries neighboring Afghanistan, and that £30 million ($41.5 million) in aid would be spent in those countries, alongside £286 million earmarked for Afghanistan itself.
About the author
William Worley@willrworley
Will Worley is the Climate Correspondent for Devex, covering the intersection of development and climate change. He previously worked as UK Correspondent, reporting on the FCDO and British aid policy during a time of seismic reforms. Will’s extensive reporting on the UK aid cuts saw him shortlisted for ‘Specialist Journalist of the Year’ in 2021 by the British Journalism Awards. He can be reached at william.worley@devex.com.