The Global Solidarity Committee of NIC-ICTU has called on NI Assembly and the NI Executive to provide support to as many refugees from Afghanistan as possible.
The people of Afghanistan have suffered war and occupation for over 20 years and the appalling situation unfolding must be met with urgent action by the international community to forestall further human rights abuses. The Taliban’s takeover threatens to further destabilise the region itself and thousands of Afghans are at serious risk of Taliban reprisals – from academics and journalists to civil society activists, trade unionists and women human rights defenders.
Women and girls have already been subjected to violence. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has spoken of “chilling” reports of human rights violations. Inevitably, many people will try to flee to safety and countries must be willing to assume their responsibilities under international law to protect and accept refugees According to UNHCR there are currently 96,000 Afghan people in neighbouring countries in need of protection.
Dooley Harte, chair of the NIC-ICTU Global Solidarity committee, stated -
The NI Assembly, as part of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme announced in 2014, resettled 1,815 Syrian refugees, proportionally more than any other area of the UK. This was a commendable achievement which enriched us all.
Northern Ireland must now step up and continue to demonstrate strong humanitarian leadership by taking concreate actions. Together with the International Trade Union Confederation, we will work to do everything to ensure the safety of the people of Afghanistan and especially our friends in the Afghan trade union movement.
Prior to the takeover by the Taliban, rights of working people to freedom of association in Afghanistan were grossly violated. Authorities were determined to deprive workers of union representation and often sought to oppress the work of trade unions in their fight for defend workers rights. In defending human rights in Afghanistan, we must fight for the respect of freedom of association under international law and the rights of trade unionists.
We have all seen the heart-breaking and chaotic scenes at Kabul airport. Western governments must shoulder their responsibilities by immediately working with NGOs and other organisations to ensure that refuges are resettled urgently. Our political representatives should not wait for others to take the lead but must take action immediately. Northern Ireland can and must resettle as many refugees as it can and politicians must reject those arguing against this.
