Thousands of Afghans who worked for the UK have been abandoned and remain at risk from the Taliban a year after the evacuation from Kabul, a coalition of human rights groups has said. In a parliamentary briefing, nine expert groups on Afghanistan criticised the British government’s resettlement schemes as “unjustifiably restrictive” and expressed deep concern that no safe route is currently offered to many Afghan women and girls or to oppressed minority groups.
The government operates two programmes: the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap), which has brought 10,100 eligible Afghans to the UK, and the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme (ACRS), which will allow up to 20,000 to settle. However, the briefing argues that failures in these schemes have forced Afghans to use dangerous unofficial routes. During the first three months of 2022, people fleeing Afghanistan were the largest group risking their lives crossing the Channel.
The report, compiled by Human Rights Watch, the Sulha Alliance, the Azadi charity and a group of former civil servants called the Afghanistan Diplomacy and Development Alliance, says Arap is still not functioning properly and is marred by ongoing substantive and procedural problems. Of 250 former staff at Adam Smith International who worked on UK projects in Afghanistan and applied for Arap, only 24 received clearance for relocation. Not one application has been granted since the evacuation from Kabul ended in late August 2021.
Daniel Pimlott, a director at Adam Smith International, said most people had heard little or nothing from the UK government, and a small minority had their applications rejected. He questioned the seemingly irrational nature of decisions, noting one individual was told he was “ineligible” despite doing a similar job to seven successful colleagues. “It is shameful that the UK has left these people behind in Afghanistan to God knows what future,” he said.
Among those abandoned are 109 teachers who worked for the British Council delivering lessons on diversity and promoting tolerance. Despite being granted permission to apply online to come to Britain, they have no idea how to escape safely. Joseph Seaton, former English manager and deputy director of the British Council Afghanistan, said the failure to help the teachers had “soured” the legacy of its efforts. One teacher, Mahmoud, described receiving threatening letters from the Taliban, a raid on his house, and having to move 11 times. The briefing also warns that women, girls and oppressed minorities face further deterioration while waiting for ACRS pathway three, and recommends expanding the Arap scheme.
