Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on providing (a) refuge and (b) asylum to the (i) Sikh and (ii) Hindu communities from Afghanistan.

It was appalling to hear of the attack conducted against a Sikh Gurdwara in Kabul on 25 March and the subsequent attack on the funeral procession the following day. We are deeply concerned about any attacks which target innocent people based on their beliefs; religious minorities should never be a target. Freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental right, and the UK is firmly committed to protecting ethnic and religious minority groups around the world. We are clear that all ethnic and religious groups have equal rights and an important role to play in Afghan society.

Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, we are not bound to consider asylum claims from people overseas. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.

The UK’s refugee resettlement schemes do offer a route for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recognised refugees in need of protection, who have fled their country of origin. Through these schemes, the UK prioritises the most vulnerable refugees regardless of race, religion or ethnicity and we do not discriminate in favour of, or against, any group. We work closely with UNHCR, which has well-established procedures and criteria for identifying refugees they consider to be suitable for resettlement, taking into account their protection needs. Apart from the criteria we set for each scheme, we do not seek to influence which cases are referred to us by UNHCR.