Afghanistan Support Motion

This House notes that:

(1) The decision by President Biden and NATO to pull out of Afghanistan, allowing the Taliban to takeover the country, has resulted in a deep humanitarian crisis.

(2) It is estimated that more than 20 million Afghans are on the brink of famine and that by the middle of 2022, 97% of the population could be below the “universal poverty” line.

(3) The World Food Programme has launched their biggest ever appeal and operation to seek to help the country.

(4) Domestically, controls on Afghan citizens coming to the UK were dropped which has meant a large number of people with very little to no assets could come to the UK to flee the Taliban.

(5) Local authorities will be dealing with large numbers of new people requiring support because of a decision that was made at Westminster.

This House calls upon the Government to:

(1) Substantially increase funding to UN programmes and NGOs to get support to the people of Afghanistan directly whilst avoiding giving money to the Taliban.

(2) Ensure that the upcoming budget provides funding to local authorities and other departments and agencies which require it to support Afghan refugees and migrants which have come to the UK since the Taliban takeover.

(3) That the Government supports programmes in Afghanistan which reinforce and expand upon the education of women and girl within the Country.

This motion was proposed by The Right Honourable Sir Tommy2Boys KCT KG KT KCB KBE KCVO MSP. the Duke of Aberdeen, on behalf of Coalition!

My Lords,

It’s a pleasure to present my first motion in a long time to this place and it’s on an issue dear to my heart. The people of Afghanistan deserved better. To simply turn our back on them and walk away is a stain on the west’s collective conscience. But we are where we are, and we must do what we can for them now.

The humanitarian situation within Afghanistan is bleak. I’ve done quite a bit of research when it comes to Yemen, long believed to be the worst humanitarian situation in the world. The very thought anything could be worse than what we see in Yemen scares me, but it’s where we are heading.

We need to get help to these people and fast. That involves getting money to NGOs and UN agencies quickly so they can get food and medicine into the country. We do not need to give money to the Taliban to help ease the crisis there, and with UN agencies currently having the ability to work in the country unimpeded this is especially true. The government should use the upcoming budget to get money to groups that can help.

Closer to home, we again can and should do more to help those who have come to the UK. C! welcome the loosening of controls on people from Afghanistan coming to the UK, but we must recognise that this puts immense pressure on local authorities especially. People who come will have little to no assets, and it’s vital we give them the best attempt to get on in their new life.

Finally this motion calls upon the government to support the education of women and girls within the country. Now we on these benches are not naive. We know who the Taliban are, but we have a moral duty to try. To try and ensure the gains made in girls education since the fall of the Taliban 20 years ago are not completely abandoned.

I hope this House will find itself able to back this motion and I commend it to the House today.

Lords may Vote Content, Not Content, or Present

Vote on this motion will end on the 23rd January at 10pm GMT