UK urged to protect Afghan education activists and the right to education
Afghanistan, July 2021. The conflict has displaced thousands of Afghans throughout the country, and risks grave difficulties for children who have been forced to flee.
© UNHCR
Following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan the International Parliamentary Network for Education (IPNEd) has grave concerns for the rights and interests of Afghan citizens, especially women, girls, and ethnic and religious minorities.
Speaking in advance of the debate on the situation in Afghanistan in the UK Parliament on Wednesday, August 18, IPNEd’s Executive Director, Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly said, “We have today published a briefing for our member parliamentarians in the UK which calls on the UK government to implement five measures designed to protect those most at risk and safeguard the right to education, especially for Afghanistan’s women and girls.”
“As a matter of absolute priority we urge the Government to provide urgent assistance to at-risk Afghan citizens. This can best be achieved by immediately expanding the eligibility criteria for the UK government’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. The scheme is currently open to individuals who were employed by the UK in Afghanistan but should be open to others including members of Afghanistan’s National Assembly, human rights defenders, journalists, those who have worked on projects funded by the British government, and their families.
“Crucially it must be open to supporting those that have provided and promoted education, especially for women and girls.
“The UK should also encourage and support states neighbouring Afghanistan to allow refugees who fear persecution from the Taliban to flee and ensure that they are granted access to humanitarian assistance on their arrival.
“There are four other actions which will help protect the right to education more generally. They are
Providing immediate assistance to countries receiving Afghan refugees, including to ensure that children fleeing Afghanistan in search of protection have immediate access to education;
Expanding the provision of educational opportunities including scholarships for Afghan students to study overseas;
Increasing flexible and urgent humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan;
Calling on the Taliban to uphold fundamental rights and freedoms. We think this can be best done by the UK maintaining a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan which would enable it to monitor developments, provide vital moral and practical support to human rights defenders and civil society, and to engage as appropriate with the new government.“
A briefing that was published today and shared with IPNEd’s UK member parliamentarians provides additional background on each of these recommendations.
For more information, contact:
Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly, IPNEd Executive Director, director@ipned.org
