Journalism of Courage
This situation has cast a shadow of uncertainty on the future of Afghan nationals and some nations have announced their policy on taking Afghan refugees. As of 2020, there are about 2.8 million Afghan refugees abroad. The highest number of refugees living abroad belong to Syria, at 6.8 million, according to UNHCR. (AP)
A refugee is defined as a person who has been forced “to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. (AP)
Most likely, refugees cannot return home or are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries,” as per UNHCR. (Reuters)
The United States and allies have taken about 114,400 people - foreign nationals and vulnerable Afghans - out of the country in the past two weeks, but tens of thousands who want to go will be left behind. (Reuters)
On August 2, the US Department of State announced the Priority 2 (P-2) designation which grants US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) access to certain Afghan nationals and their eligible family members. As per reports, the US is expected to take in over 10,000 Afghan nationals, which will mostly include the people who helped the government. (Reuters)
The UK government will resettle 5,000 Afghan nationals who are at risk due to the current crisis during the first year of the resettlement scheme, which will give priority to women, girls and religious minorities. Overall, the UK aims to resettle 20,000 Afghan nationals through this scheme. (Reuters)
According to Statista, Austria, France and Sweden are other major destinations for Afghan refugees in Europe. As per a European Union report, around 7,000 Afghans were granted permanent or temporary legal status in the EU in the first quarter of 2021. Out of these, at least 2,200 of them were located in Greece, 1,800 in France, 1,000 in Germany and around 700 in Italy. (Reuters)
India does not have a separate statute for refugees, and until now has been dealing with refugees on a case-by-case basis. India is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention on Refugees or the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden has said he will stick by his deadline to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Tuesday. He had said on Saturday that his military chiefs had told him another militant attack was highly likely. (AP)
