Response to Foreign Affairs Committee Report on Afghanistan

In response to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Report on the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Amy Richards, Director at Global Witness, said:

“No one who was involved in the evacuation of Afghanistan last August will be surprised by the depiction of chaos, confusion and a total lack of leadership across Whitehall and, most particularly, at the top of the Foreign Office outlined in this report. What will be more surprising is the utter failure to plan for this, even as other countries did start making arrangements. We should make no bones about the catastrophic impact of this failure – Afghan people, many of whom worked alongside British forces and organisations, have lost their lives as a result, often in brutal and terrifying ways. Others remain in hiding and living in fear, cut adrift from support they were promised by Britain.

“What is not addressed in this report is the continued failure to meet our responsibilities. The Government’s refugee schemes set up for Afghans have barely got off the ground. Visas are not being issued and the criteria are being tightened to bar many of those who were originally told they had a valid claim. As life gets harder for those in Afghanistan, Britain is further pulling up the drawbridge and letting down those who carried out brave acts of solidarity on our behalf over many years. We should be utterly ashamed by this.”