UK announces plan to resettle 20,000 Afghan refugees with women, girls, minorities to be given priority

According to details, the priority will be given to women, girls and minorities considered ‘most at risk’ under Taliban rule, as per reports in British news outlets.

Under the program, those seen “most at risk of human rights abuses and dehumanizing treatment by the Taliban” will be offered a safe and legal route to the UK.

Reportedly, around 5,000 people will arrive in Britain in its first year.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain owed a “debt of gratitude to all those who have worked with us to make Afghanistan a better place over the last 20 years and many of them, particularly women, are now in urgent need of our help,” British media said.

The UK will hold an important session today to deliberate over the situation in Afghanistan.

The international community is working out how to respond following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. The group has said it will respect women, but many fear a swift unravelling of women’s rights, despite the reassurances.

So far, the UK has evacuated more than 500 people on military flights since Saturday, including British citizens, diplomats and Afghan staff.

“The complex picture on the ground means there will be significant challenges delivering the scheme, but the government is working at speed to address these obstacles,” the Home Office said in a statement.