UK deputy PM criticized for suggesting ‘safe and legal’ routes for Afghan migrants exist

UK deputy PM criticized for suggesting ‘safe and legal’ routes for Afghan migrants exist
Speaking to the BBC, Dominic Raab claimed there were “safe and legal” ways for people fleeing Afghanistan to reach the UK. (FILE/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 29 March 2023

UK deputy PM criticized for suggesting ‘safe and legal’ routes for Afghan migrants exist

UK deputy PM criticized for suggesting ‘safe and legal’ routes for Afghan migrants exist
  • PM Rishi Sunak says he will ask Home Office to reassess case of pilot facing deportation
  • Migrants could be housed offshore on ships to end ‘perverse incentive’ of hotel stays 

LONDON: The UK government has been criticized after the deputy prime minister claimed it had established safe routes for refugees and asylum-seekers to enter Britain.

Speaking to the BBC, Dominic Raab claimed there were “safe and legal” ways for people fleeing Afghanistan to reach the UK.

The UK deputy leader was responding to questions about a former Afghan Air Force pilot facing deportation to Rwanda after having arrived in Britain via countries deemed safe. 

The pilot, who has not been identified out of concerns for the safety of his family in Afghanistan, claimed there were no safe routes, and that he was forced to enter the UK illegally in a small boat across the English Channel.

Raab said: “I don’t want to comment on individual cases. It’s sensitive, it’s not right.”

But asked if it was right to deport people who had fought alongside coalition forces against the Taliban, he added: “That’s why we created a safe and legal route. Getting out of the country has been difficult in Afghanistan. Thousands have; we set up the flights before the evacuation of Kabul, but others can do it via neighboring countries. So there is a safe and legal route for Afghans.”

Raab’s fellow Tory MP and the chair of the UK’s Defense Select Committee, Tobias Ellwood, disagreed, telling The Independent there was “no functioning process” for Afghans to reach the UK, and adding that Britain had a “duty” to those who had worked alongside it in the country — a sentiment echoed by the former head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Lord West.

The UK has two schemes for Afghans seeking asylum. The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy for those who assisted British forces in Afghanistan has brought over 11,000 people, while the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme is for general applications. 

The latter has managed to resettle just 22 people since the end of the UK’s military-led evacuation process, Operation Pitting, in 2021, while the ARAP scheme has over 4,300 eligible people still stuck in Afghanistan.

Afghans, meanwhile, make up the largest single cohort of people crossing the English Channel illegally in small boats, with over 9,000 making the journey in 2022.

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, told The Independent: “The UK government made a solemn promise to the Afghans who helped our armed forces that it would help them and give them sanctuary from the Taliban.

“The failures of this Conservative government to help those that helped us is a source of national shame.”

The pilot, who flew over 30 combat missions against the Taliban and was praised by his Western colleagues as a “patriot to his nation,” believes he has been “forgotten” by his US and UK comrades, adding that it was “impossible” to reach the UK safely and legally under either of the present schemes.

Questioned about the case by a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described the pilot and others like him as “exactly the sort of people we want to help,” adding that he would “happily” ask the Home Office to reassess the case.

Raab, UK foreign secretary during the period when the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of coalition forces, also suggested on Wednesday that the UK could house asylum-seekers offshore on giant ships to end the “perverse incentive” of putting people up in hotels indefinitely.

The now deputy PM notoriously initially refused to curtail a holiday as the chaotic situation in Kabul unfolded in 2021, leading to a backlash against the UK’s handling of the withdrawal at home. The UK Foreign Affairs Committee later found that he had attempted to shift the blame for the “disaster” in its aftermath.

 

Related


Before-and-after satellite images show profound toll of Ukraine dam collapse

Before-and-after satellite images show profound toll of Ukraine dam collapse
Updated 46 min 4 sec ago

Before-and-after satellite images show profound toll of Ukraine dam collapse

Before-and-after satellite images show profound toll of Ukraine dam collapse
  • Before the Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River broke, farm fields appear green and crossed by peaceful streets and farm roads and dotted with trees
  • Afterward, only metal roofs and treetops poke above the murky water

KHERSON, Ukraine: Before-and-after images of the area downstream from a dam that collapsed Tuesday vividly show the extent of the devastation of a large, flooded swathe of southern Ukraine.
Before the Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River broke, farm fields appear green and crossed by peaceful streets and farm roads and dotted with trees. Afterward, only metal roofs and treetops poke above the murky water. Greenhouses and homes are almost entirely submerged.
The pre-collapse satellite photos were taken in May and early June. Photos of the same area taken after the dam collapsed clearly show how much of it has become unlivable. Brown water as high as people covers much of the territory captured in the images.
Paired with exclusive drone footage of the Ukrainian dam and surrounding villages occupied by Russia, the before-and-after satellite images illustrate the profound changes wrought by the disaster.
Ukraine has warned since last October that the hydroelectric dam was mined by Russian forces, and accused them of touching off an explosion that has turned the downstream areas into a waterlogged wasteland. Russia said Ukraine hit the dam with a missile. But while the AP footage clearly shows the extent of the damage to the region, it offered a limited snapshot of the partially submerged dam, making it difficult to categorically rule out any scenario.
Experts have said the structure was in disrepair, which could also have led to its collapse.


WHO rushes supplies to Ukraine, readies to tackle disease in flood areas

WHO rushes supplies to Ukraine, readies to tackle disease in flood areas
Updated 08 June 2023

WHO rushes supplies to Ukraine, readies to tackle disease in flood areas

WHO rushes supplies to Ukraine, readies to tackle disease in flood areas
  • Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the bursting of the Soviet-era Kakhovka hydroelectric dam
  • "The impact of the region's water supply sanitation systems and public health services cannot be underestimated," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing

GENEVA: The World Health Organization has rushed emergency supplies to flood-hit parts of Ukraine and are preparing to respond to an array of health risks including trauma, drowning and waterborne diseases like cholera, officials said on Thursday.
Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the bursting of the Soviet-era Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, which sent waters cascading across the war zone of southern Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.
“The impact of the region’s water supply sanitation systems and public health services cannot be underestimated,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing.
“The WHO has rushed in to support the authorities and health care workers in preventive measures against waterborne diseases and to improve disease surveillance.”
Asked specifically about cholera, WHO technical officer Teresa Zakaria said that the risk of an outbreak was present since the pathogen exists in the environment. She said that the WHO was working with Ukraine’s health ministry to put mechanisms in place to ensure that vaccines can be imported if needed.
“We are trying to address quite a wide range of health risks actually associated with the floods, starting from trauma to drowning, to waterborne diseases but also all the way to the potential implications of disruption to chronic treatment,” she added.
The huge Kakhovka Dam on the Dnipro River separates Russian and Ukrainian forces and people have been affected on both sides of its banks. WHO’s Emergencies Director Mike Ryan said the WHO has offered assistance to Russian-controlled areas but that its operational presence was “primarily” on the Ukrainian side.
He said Russian authorities had given them assurances that people living in areas it occupies were being “well monitored, well cared for, well fed (and) well supported.”
“We will be delighted to be able to access those areas and be able to monitor health as we would in most situations wish to do,” he said, adding it would be for the Ukrainian and Russian authorities to agree how that could be achieved.


UK unveils new sanctions targeting Russia’s ally Belarus

UK unveils new sanctions targeting Russia’s ally Belarus
Updated 08 June 2023

UK unveils new sanctions targeting Russia’s ally Belarus

UK unveils new sanctions targeting Russia’s ally Belarus
  • London said the new curbs would hit Belarus exports that have been funding the administration of authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko
  • The UK is now banning imports of gold, cement, wood and rubber from Belarus, and blocking exports of banknotes and machinery

LONDON: Britain announced Thursday new sanctions against Belarus, its latest punishment for the eastern European country’s support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and suppression of anti-government activists.
London said the new curbs would hit Belarus exports that have been funding the administration of authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, and “crack down on Russia’s efforts to circumvent sanctions.”
Western countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow, and its neighbor to the west Minsk, following the launch of the Russian war in Ukraine in February last year.
The UK is now banning imports of gold, cement, wood and rubber from Belarus, and blocking exports of banknotes and machinery, alongside goods, technologies and materials that could be used to produce chemical and biological weapons.
The measures also give Britain grounds to prevent designated Belarusian media organizations from spreading propaganda and disinformation in the UK, including over the Internet.
Social media companies and Internet service providers will be required to restrict access to the websites of sanctioned Belarusian media organizations, as occurs with sanctioned Russian outlets.
The new legislation also expands sanctions criteria, giving the UK government the basis to target a broader range of Belarusians, such as Lukashenko’s aides, advisers and ministers.
“This new package ratchets up the economic pressure on Lukashenko and his regime which actively facilitates the Russian war effort and ignores Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.
“Our support for Ukraine will remain resolute for as long as it takes and the UK will not hesitate to introduce further measures against those who prop up Putin’s war.”
Belarus has been ruled by Lukashenko since 1994.
The UK was among a number of Western countries that imposed sanctions on Lukashenko’s government for its suppression of mass anti-government protests in 2020.
Western countries then imposed various new sanctions last year over its role in Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine.
Lukashenko has allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory and airspace to conduct missile and drone strikes against Ukraine, as well as providing training and logistical support to Moscow’s forces.


US suspends food aid to Ethiopia, says it is not reaching needy

US suspends food aid to Ethiopia, says it is not reaching needy
Updated 08 June 2023

US suspends food aid to Ethiopia, says it is not reaching needy

US suspends food aid to Ethiopia, says it is not reaching needy
  • The United States is by far the largest humanitarian donor to Ethiopia
  • More than 20 million people need food aid, most of them due to drought and a recently-concluded war

NAIROBI: The US Agency for International Development (USAID) said on Thursday it was suspending food aid to Ethiopia because its donations were being diverted from people in need.
A spokesperson said in a statement that USAID had determined, in coordination with the Ethiopian government, that a “widespread and coordinated campaign is diverting food assistance from the people of Ethiopia.”
The statement did not say who was behind the campaign.
The United States is by far the largest humanitarian donor to Ethiopia, where more than 20 million people need food aid, most of them due to drought and a recently-concluded war in the northern Tigray region.
According to an internal briefing by a group of foreign donors to Ethiopia seen by Reuters, USAID believes the food has been diverted to Ethiopian military units.
“The scheme appears to be orchestrated by federal and regional government entities, with military units across the country benefiting from humanitarian assistance,” said the document from the Humanitarian and Resilience Donor Group (HRDG), which includes USAID.
Spokespeople for the Ethiopian government and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. USAID declined to comment on the report.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the issue on Thursday with Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen on the margins of a conference in Saudi Arabia.
The State Department said afterwards that Blinken welcomed a commitment by Ethiopia’s government to work with the United States to conduct a full investigation.
The USAID spokesperson said the agency intended to resume food assistance as soon as it was confident in the integrity of the system.
USAID and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) had already suspended food aid to the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray last month in response to information that large amounts of aid there were being diverted.
A two-year war in Tigray between the federal government and forces led by the region’s dominant political party ended in a truce in November after killing tens of thousands of people and creating famine-like conditions for hundreds of thousands.
In the 2022 fiscal year, USAID disbursed nearly $1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia, most of it food aid.
The HRDG briefing document, which was circulated among donors on Wednesday, recommended that Ethiopia’s government allow donors to deliver aid through “alternative modalities” like cash transfers.
It also urged donors to call on Ethiopia’s government to make a public statement condemning the diversion and demanding that aid workers not be harassed.
Ethiopia’s food crisis has deepened in recent years as a result of the war in Tigray and the Horn of Africa’s worst drought in decades.
WFP is also investigating “systemic” food diversion across Ethiopia, according to an email sent last week by the agency’s deputy director to staff in Ethiopia.
A WFP spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Scottish boy who died following ‘playground incident’ named

Scottish boy who died following ‘playground incident’ named
Updated 08 June 2023

Scottish boy who died following ‘playground incident’ named

Scottish boy who died following ‘playground incident’ named
  • Hamdan Aslam, 14, taken to hospital on Tuesday
  • Police say investigation ongoing

LONDON: A 14-year-old boy who died after a “playground incident” with another pupil at a school in Scotland has been named.

Hamdan Aslam was taken to hospital on Tuesday after emergency services were called to St Kentigern’s Academy in Blackburn, Bathgate, West Lothian. He was later pronounced dead. 

Police Scotland said they were told of the incident at 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, adding: “Officers were called to a report of concern for a 14-year-old boy at a school in the Bathgate area.

“He was taken by ambulance to hospital for treatment, but died a short time later. His family have been informed and inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the death.”

The police did not comment further, but sources told Sky News “no criminality” occurred in the incident, which involved two pupils.

The local Bathgate Mosque said in a statement: “During these difficult moments, the (Aslam) family needs our support and prayers.

“We ask Allah to grant Hamdan the highest rank in Jannah and provide the family with sabr (patience) to bear this loss. It is crucial that we refrain from making assumptions and speculations regarding this tragedy.”

St Kentigern’s Academy headteacher, Andrew Sharkey, said pupils and staff were receiving support, with the school having previously confirmed an “isolated incident” had occurred. 

Local Member of the Scottish Parliament Fiona Hyslop tweeted: “My deepest condolences are with the family and friends of the pupil who has died at St Kentigern’s Academy in my constituency.

“I hope those closest to him are given the privacy they deserve at this tragic time. Pupils and staff I am sure will be supported through this period.”

The nearby St John the Baptist Parish Church, Fauldhouse, posted to its congregation on Facebook: “Can you please keep the family and friends of the young S3 pupil who sadly passed away after an incident at St Kentigern’s Academy in your thoughts and prayers.”