Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have had discussions with international partners on implementing the recommendations for a common approach among relevant political, humanitarian and development actors, contained in the UN Special Coordinator Feridun Sinirlioğlu’s independent assessment on Afghanistan, dated 8 November 2023.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is supportive of the recommendations within the UN Special Coordinator's Independent Assessment, viewing them as the best path for an Afghanistan at peace with itself and the international community. We engage regularly with international partners on this issue, including hosting a meeting in London of G7+ Special Representatives for Afghanistan in January to discuss the report in detail. Senior officials also attend the UN-convened meetings in Doha for Special Representatives as part of this process. Ministers and officials regularly discuss the report's recommendations with international partners, including during the Foreign Secretary's recent trip to Central Asia.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2024 to Question 22008 on Refugees: Afghanistan, what his planned timetable is for establishing a route for separated families to be reunited.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
In October we committed to establishing a route for those evacuated from Afghanistan under Pathway 1 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme without their immediate family members to reunite them in the UK. We remain on track to meet that commitment in the first half of this year. Further details and guidance will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what support his Department provides to Central Asian partners to (a) contain and( b) counter Islamic State Khorasan Province in that region.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
During the Foreign Secretary's visit to Central Asian countries in April 2024, he discussed the threat from terrorist groups in Afghanistan with interlocutors. We regularly engage with our partners in Central Asia to build a shared understanding of the threat emanating from Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and cohere our approaches to tackling the threat.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on 10 January (HC Deb col 133WH) that in Afghanistan "minority groups such as the Hazara people face discrimination and attacks”, what action they are taking in this regard.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to monitor and document discrimination and abuses against Hazaras, both through the UN and other institutions, and through our own programme work. Officials from the UK Mission to Afghanistan regularly press Taliban acting ministers and Afghan officials to protect religious and ethnic minorities, including Shia Muslims and Hazara communities. In December, I [Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon] raised attacks against Hazaras with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for a Minister from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to meet Hazara representatives to discuss the continuing violence and persecution facing their community in Afghanistan.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials engage regularly with a range of Afghans, including Hazaras. The Government is monitoring closely attacks against Hazaras in Afghanistan, including by Daesh (Islamic State Khorasan Province), and in December I [Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon] publicly condemned them. I have also raised attacks against Hazaras with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish their latest Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability assessment on Afghanistan; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government last completed a Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability (JACS) for Afghanistan in 2019: this document has not been made public, given the sensitive nature of the assessment. We continue to closely monitor the situation in country and the region, drawing on internal and external assessments and reporting. The decision to make public UK-commissioned reports and assessments on the situation in Afghanistan is made on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will take steps with international partners to (a) press Pakistan to stop deportation of Afghan people and (b) develop a longer-term strategy on the situation in Afghanistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is closely monitoring Pakistan's policy on the deportation of Afghans and ministers have raised it most recently with Pakistan's Minister of Human Rights and Deputy Prime Minister. We are working with a number of international partners, including the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the World Bank to ensure Pakistan adheres to its international human rights obligations with respect to those affected. Since September 2023, we have committed £18.5m to the IOM to provide emergency assistance to vulnerable returnees in Afghanistan. We are also grateful for Pakistan's continued co-operation over our Afghan resettlement schemes.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Afghanistan 2023 Human Rights Report by the United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, published on 23 April, in particular with regard to the targeting of Hazara community members by ISIS-K.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government welcomes the State Department's Afghanistan 2023 Human Rights Report, which sheds further light on appalling human rights abuses in Afghanistan. We are monitoring closely attacks against Hazaras in Afghanistan, including by Daesh (Islamic State Khorasan Province), and in December I [Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon] publicly condemned them. I have also raised attacks against Hazaras with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 2 May 2024 to Question 23469 on Afghanistan: Non-governmental Organisations, when a Minister from his Department last met representatives of non-governmental organisations working in Afghanistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO Ministers regularly meet NGOs. The Deputy Foreign Secretary met the Director-General of Geneva Call in March which included discussions on Afghanistan. Last month, he co-hosted a biannual meeting with the CEOs of BOND member NGOs, many of whom work in Afghanistan. UK officials regularly meet NGO partners to discuss the operating context in Afghanistan and to ensure our support is as effective as possible. This includes a regular meeting with NGOs chaired by our Special Representative for Afghanistan as well as meetings organised by the FCDO in the region.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to help ensure female Afghan students can (a) apply for and (b) study through Chevening scholarships.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO continues to support higher education for Afghans, currently offering Afghan candidates resident outside of Afghanistan in ODA-eligible third countries the opportunity to apply for a Chevening scholarship.
Under the Chevening Scholarship programme, 15 Afghan women were offered scholarships for academic year 2023/24. 12 women accepted the offer and are currently studying in the UK, out of a total cohort of 21.