Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the cross party report by parliamentarians from both Houses of Parliament into the plight of the Hazara people in Afghanistan; if she will make it her policy to provide a pathway and scheme for immediate and urgent resettlement for Hazara people fleeing (a) persecution and (b) sexual violence; and if she will make a statement.

Through the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the UK will relocate up to 20,000 people at risk. It will prioritise those who have stood up for values such as democracy and women’s rights in Afghanistan, as well as vulnerable groups, including ethnic and religious minorities. The capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and difficult decisions have to be made on who will be prioritised for resettlement.

Under Pathway Two of the ACRS, the Government is working closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to resettle vulnerable refugees who have fled Afghanistan. UNHCR will refer individuals in accordance with their standard resettlement categories and policies, based on an assessment of protection needs and vulnerabilities. We are pleased to have welcomed the first arrivals to the UK under ACRS Pathway 2, and we will continue to receive further UNHCR referrals.