The fall and the speed of the takeover of Afghanistan to the Taliban is distressing for many reasons, and like so many I have been shocked and horrified by the scenes at Kabul Airport. Whilst the last 20 years were difficult for Afghanistan, with huge sacrifices made by British and other NATO troops, there have been significant signs of progress. The values of liberty, freedom and democracy were beginning to take hold. Women in Afghanistan finally had access to opportunities and education, with educating women and girls is one of the quickest and most effective ways to eradicate poverty. For the first time half the population had opportunities to realise their potential.
This progress is now at risk, and female politicians, teachers etc are now fearing for their careers, liberty, and in some cases their lives.
This is even more heart-breaking given this situation was largely avoidable. President Biden’s decision to remove the remaining US troops is both politically and morally difficult to justify. Had President Biden reversed former President Trump’s plans for a rapid withdrawal of troops, it is likely that Afghanistan’s fragile peace and status quo would have been maintained. Although clearly the rest of NATO could have remained and must accept their element of blame in this debacle, given the scale and pace of the USA’s withdrawal, it largely became impossible for the rest of NATO, including the UK, to continue the mission.
While the USA’s determination to end “forever wars” is superficially attractive, in my view it does not stand up to scrutiny. The USA have maintained a military presence in Germany and Japan since World War II. There have been ongoing UN Peacekeeping missions in Cyprus, the Middle East and Kashmir for many decades. Furthermore, it is both in our interest, and is our duty, to maintain peace and freedom in Afghanistan. We must recognise that this withdrawal may mean an increased risk of terrorism and could lead to Russia and China increasing their influence in the country.
My friend and colleague, Tom Tugendhat MP, in the House of Commons yesterday said “let's stop talking about forever wars. Let's recognise that forever peace is bought not cheaply, but hard through determination and the will to endure." I completely agree. There are many examples across the world of hard won, fragile, peace following an intervention – but there are also many tragic examples of the international community failing to act, failing in our responsibility to protect, leading to deaths and human rights abuses. I fear Afghanistan will now fall into this latter category.
This also inevitably also raises serious and probing questions about the ability of the United Kingdom, and our NATO allies, to conduct military operations abroad without the support of the USA. If the medium-term foreign policy objectives of the USA are reset to follow a doctrine of retreat and isolationism, which so often happens after major world events, then the consequences for world stability are deeply alarming.
We must also accept that we, as the West, installed and promoted liberty, freedom and democracy in Afghanistan, and many Afghan citizens who helped to promote these aims despite serious risks to themselves. The immediate priority is therefore to get those at risk out of Afghanistan. We have a responsibility to protect them, and must try every method to protect them. The top priority must be to urgently rescue all British nationals, and urgently provide visas and transport for those who helped the British Government in any capacity. This definition needs to be drawn as widely as possible, to not just those directly employed by the British Government, but also to those who have been contractors and those who have worked for British NGOs.
The second priority is to mitigate the seemingly inevitable refugee crisis which will result from this. The West must recognise their responsibility to protect those at risk in Afghanistan, for example politicians, judges, civil society leaders, activists and minorities. We must work together, ideally through the UN, to ensure safe routes, take on their fair share of refugees, and process applications quickly and fairly. The alternative is a massive migration crisis, with families taking dangerous routes, exploited by criminal gangs.
We must also work with the UN Security Council, or if necessary, NATO, to urge and compel the Taliban to govern in an legal and responsible manner, with sanctions applied if necessary.
Finally, below I summarise the support the Government is provided which was announced in the House of Commons yesterday. This is welcome, particularly the refugee resettlement scheme. However, I will continue to urge the Government to be flexible, and if it becomes apparent that the West needs to take in more refugees and act more quickly, to lead these efforts.
- Establishing the new Afghanistan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme to resettle thousands of Afghan women and children under one of the most generous resettlement schemes in our country’s history. This new route is modelled on the successful Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which resettled 20,000 Syrian refugees over a seven-year period from 2014 to 2021.
- The Afghanistan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme will prioritise women and girls, and religious and other minorities, who are most at risk of human rights abuses and dehumanising treatment by the Taliban. The UK is working with international partners to develop a system to identify those most at risk and resettle them, ensuring help goes to those that need it. We will work with the devolved administrations and local councils to ensure that Afghans who will be rebuilding their lives in the UK have the help they need and support to integrate.
- This new route is separate from, and in addition to, the existing safe and legal routes. These include:
- The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). This route offers any current or former locally employed staff who are assessed to be under serious threat to life priority relocation to the UK. 5,000 former Afghan staff and their family members are expected to be relocated to the UK by the end of this year under ARAP; since 22 June 2021, the Government has resettled over 2,000 former Afghan staff and their families in the UK under ARAP. Since 2013, we have resettled over 3,300 Afghan staff and their families in the UK.
- Asylum and the Points-Based Immigration system. The Government has also provided thousands of Afghans asylum in the UK and many Afghan nationals have come to the UK to work and study under the Points-Based Immigration system.
- The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). This route offers any current or former locally employed staff who are assessed to be under serious threat to life priority relocation to the UK. 5,000 former Afghan staff and their family members are expected to be relocated to the UK by the end of this year under ARAP; since 22 June 2021, the Government has resettled over 2,000 former Afghan staff and their families in the UK under ARAP. Since 2013, we have resettled over 3,300 Afghan staff and their families in the UK.
- The Government’s ambition is to welcome up to 5,000 Afghans to the UK under the new Afghanistan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme in its first year, with up to a total of 20,000 in the long-term. This is in addition to the 5,000 Afghans we expect to relocate to the UK this year under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. The complex picture on the ground means there will be significant challenges delivering the scheme, but the Government is working at speed to address these obstacles.
- This new route is in line with the Government’s New Plan for Immigration, which prioritises those most in need, and seeks to make the system fairer by protecting and supporting those in genuine need of asylum. The Government is clear that the new route will not compromise on national security and any person arriving on the route will have to pass the same strict security checks as those resettled through other schemes.
- Calling for a virtual G7 leaders’ summit to ensure a coordinated international response to the crisis. The Prime Minister has set out our plans to host a meeting of G7 leaders so that the international community can take a unified approach on Afghanistan, both in terms of the future of the country and in working to prevent a humanitarian and refugee crisis.
- Calling for emergency NATO and UN Security Council meetings as we use every diplomatic lever at our disposal. The Prime Minister spoke to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and UN Secretary General António Guterres and called for meetings of NATO’s North Atlantic Council and the UN Security Council to take place as soon as possible to respond to the latest developments in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister also spoke to US President Biden, French President Macron and German Chancellor Merkel.
- Stressing the importance of any recognition of a new Afghan Government happening on a joint, rather than unilateral, basis. We are working with the UN, NATO and our friends and allies around the globe as President of the G7 and a UN Security Council Member to forge international coordination on Afghanistan with regard to recognition.
- We are working with our international partners to hold the Taliban to account on terrorism, human rights, and protections for women, girls, and minorities. We have made it clear that the Taliban must protect and uphold human rights, including those of women, girls, and minorities – and that they can expect to face sanctions or the suspension of Overseas Development Assistance if they commit human rights abuses or host terrorist organisations.
- Deploying 900 troops and civilian personnel to provide protection and support to evacuating British Nationals and Afghan staff. We are deploying 900 troops and civilian personnel to the region to provide support to Operation Pitting. They will provide force protection and logistical support for the relocation of British nationals as well as Afghan interpreters, staff, and their families, and more are being deployed and held at readiness if needed.
- Supporting British nationals returning to the UK with an FCDO rapid deployment team specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. We have deployed an FCDO rapid deployment team of officials specially trained to deal with crisis situations to Kabul. They will work alongside Ambassador Laurie Bristow, who has remained in Kabul throughout, to support British nationals in Afghanistan to return safely to the UK.