Comprehensive 110-page report finds Afghan schemes are manifestly lacking in application and operation
A comprehensive new report published on Tuesday by JUSTICE finds that the Government's Afghan Resettlement Schemes are not working as they should. The resettlement schemes are designed to help Afghan citizens who are at risk in Afghanistan for supporting the UK's efforts in the country before the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
You can download JUSTICE's 110-page report here.
The report presents the results of detailed consideration of the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Relocation Scheme (ACRS) by JUSTICE's expert Afghan Resettlement Scheme Working Group.
JUSTICE's Working Group provides useful information about the resettlement schemes (including eligibility and the procedure for applying) before identifying in detail a number of areas for improvement within both schemes.
JUSTICE explains: "The overall aim of this report was to ensure that Afghans seeking resettlement in the United Kingdom, pursuant to the Afghan Resettlement Schemes, have their applications and expressions of interest considered fairly, accurately, and expeditiously, recognising the discretion available to decision makers. Furthermore, our aim is that an effective, efficient and accessible review process be implemented. The Working Group considered comparative issues with other ad hoc immigration schemes including the Windrush Compensation Scheme and the EU Settlement Scheme with the view of making recommendations to improve the efficiency of such schemes by the Home Office; as such it will feed into an overarching Working Group on the comparative issues."
JUSTICE's Working Group says it sought to engage forensically and critically with the legal and administrative processes of the resettlement schemes.
Writing in the foreword to the report, Garden Court's Sonali Naik KC acknowledges the Government's achievements in relocating over 24,500 Afghans to the UK in the past two years, but says the deficiencies of the schemes must also be acknowledged.
The report finds that those deficiencies include significant delays, a lack of clarity, and a lack of transparency in decision-making, and relocation.
In its conclusion, the report states:
"The inescapable conclusion of the Working Group has been that the Afghan Resettlement Schemes are in many respects manifestly lacking in their application and operation. This is in part attributable to the rapid pace at which the schemes were implemented, and to the purportedly unexpected numbers of applicants and referees to the schemes. However, whilst JUSTICE considers it entirely proper to recognise the efforts the Government, in-light of the challenges raised by the circumstances of the UK's withdrawal, that recognition in our view may only take Government departments, such as the Home Office, MoD and FCDO so far. Indeed, two years subsequent to Operation Pitting, there are many aspects of the schemes that should have already been identified and resolved: delays; the production of clear published guidance; regularly published statistics; and transparent decision-making, for example.
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"As has been reiterated in our report, a properly functioning administrative system must be clear, accessible, intelligible, and predictable. The Afghan Resettlement Schemes do not, in our conclusion, meet these critical standards with sufficient consistency. It is in light of these inadequacies, that the majority of recommendations focus on the clarity, scope and consistency of eligibility and suitability decision-making under ARAP and the ACRS, and propose more robust, accessible processes for applicants and referrals.
"Poor communication has been a consistent deficiency for applicants progressing through the schemes. Afghans, who assisted the British, find themselves constantly on the run, in hiding, and without sufficient resources. This harsh reality is manifestly worse for the most vulnerable: in particular women, elderly; children; and the LGBTQIA+ community, and therefore, updates on applications and referrals, direct means of communication, the assignment of primary caseworkers, expedited correspondence and clear timelines are essential. Not only so that applicants and referrals may track their progress through the schemes, but so they plan their next steps for survival."
Twenty-four recommendations are made in the report with the aim of assisting the Government in improving the process of administration for applicants and referees, and ultimately benefiting those Afghans who assisted the British efforts to build a viable Afghan State.
"We hope that the recommendations made in this report are carefully considered and adopted by the Government and those responsible for the operation and implementation of the schemes with whom we have consulted and for which cooperation we are grateful," Sonali Naik said.