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This petition was submitted during the 2019 to 2024 Parliament

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Closed Call on the UK Government to provide Afghan Judges and Lawyers at risk sanctuary

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The UK Government has provided little if any assistance to Afghan female judges and lawyers at risk. Afghan female judges and lawyers at risk were not eligible to apply for the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy.

Judges and lawyers, particularly women Judges and lawyers, that assisted in prosecuting Taliban individuals, are at great risk of retaliatory attacks.

Many of these offenders are now released and threatening those involved in their trials. Furthermore, the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association staff face similar risks as their work to uphold the Rule of Law is seen as a Western product, and enemy to the Taliban ideology. They cannot be abandoned now.

Afghan female judges and lawyers, and other who were involved in prosecuting the Taliban and working on defending the rule of law in the country, must be provided with sanctuary under the Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme.

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  • Related activity

    Government responds to petition about female judges and prosecutors in Afghanistan

    The Government has responded to a public (paper) petition calling for help for female judges and prosecutors in Afghanistan. The petition was presented to the House of Commons by Wera Hobhouse MP and Joanna Cherry MP on behalf of the residents of the UK.

    The petition asks the House of Commons to urge the Government to immediately help evacuate and resettle female judges and prosecutors, and their families, from Afghanistan by providing emergency visas. The petition states that female judges and prosecutors in Afghanistan are now deeply concerned for their own safety and that their children and their families are at continued risk of violent attacks.

    In response to the petition's request, the Government states that the UK remains committed to the people of Afghanistan by continuing to operate safe and legal routes for those affected by the events in Afghanistan to come to the UK. The Government's response states that nearly 24,600 people effected by events in Afghanistan have been brought to safety in the UK.

    The Government says that they recognise there are many vulnerable individuals who remain in Afghanistan, but that unfortunately, the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and difficult decisions about who will be prioritised have to be made.

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    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 20 March 2022.