Call to Action: Protect Afghan Women and Support Urgent Afghan Refugee Resettlement

Over the last few days the world has been witness to the precipitate fall of the Afghan government and army. The rapid entry of the Taliban into all major Afghan cities has exposed countless American citizens and our Afghan allies to violence and retribution at the hands of the invading army. While the situation on the ground is rapidly changing, it is clear the U.S. government is making significant efforts to airlift out U.S. citizens, as well as those who were directly employed by the U.S. government.  

But it is not clear that there is a pathway to safety for women who are not directly employed by our government. Afghan women who under the U.S. occupation provided education or humanitarian aid, supported democracy, or worked with the press are in particular danger from the Taliban. 

To do

Learn more by reading the entire “background” section below. Then use this link to contact the administration and Congress, expressing your support for a multi-pronged process:

First, ask that they provide the funding necessary to mitigate this humanitarian disaster.

Second, ask for shifts in current immigration policies that hamper relief efforts. This could be done in a number of ways, including transporting at-risk Afghans to safety before initiating the refugee settlement process, increasing the refugee ceiling, changing the requirements for visas offered through the Department of State, raising the ceiling on the current refugee cap, expediting processing for SIV and P2 visa applicants, and implementing the use of humanitarian parole. This parole process would allow individuals and nonprofit organizations to provide sponsorship to Afghans seeking refuge in our country.

Background

A generation of Afghan women activists have courageously and vocally supported U.S. efforts in Afghanistan by advocating for basic human rights, democratic institutions, and humanitarian aid. This work also placed them in direct opposition to the Taliban, and with the fall of the Afghan army and government these women are now in particular danger. As the Taliban gained ground over the past months, women have been assassinated at an alarming rate, and many now live under open death sentences. The possibility of retaliatory violence against women activists as well as their children and families is very real and is a humanitarian crisis that can be mitigated by direct engagement by the U.S. and our allies. The U.S. has a moral obligation to these allies to make a legitimate attempt to protect them from retaliatory violence and death. 

The U.N. Refugee Agency is calling upon governments across the world to take immediate humanitarian action in alliance with the Afghan people, particularly with an aim to protect women and children. There will be time in the future for recriminations and partisan posturing, but at this time MWEG joins this sentiment by condemning retaliatory violence against women and other activists and calling on the U.S. and other governments to do whatever is in their power to identify, protect, and resettle those who are now at such great risk of Taliban violence. 

We call upon President Biden and the U.S. Congress to repurpose unspent Afghan foreign assistance programs to support refugee and immigration programs for at-risk Afghans. This includes securing avenues for escape, funding immediate relocation aid, increasing the refugee ceiling, implementing the use of humanitarian parole, and broadening current emergency immigration avenues to include at-risk Afghan women activists and their families, whether or not they were employed by U.S.-funded projects. The link provided in the “to do” section above will help you send an email to President Biden and your members of Congress. To have an even greater impact, call your members of Congress as well. 

Additionally, this problem cannot be solved by government intervention alone. Another way to act is to contact your state’s resettlement agencies and your local refugee nonprofits to demonstrate your personal commitment to refugees and to find out how you can help. Refugee resettlement is a long process, and to be effective requires meaningful support from Americans willing to support those arriving in their communities. Here are a few sample questions or statements you might ask nonprofit organizations:

• How can I help your organization sponsor Afghan refugees?
• Has your organization submitted a letter of support to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to inform them of your intentions to sponsor Afghan refugees?
  • If not, what does your organization need in order to do so?
  • If so, how can our community help in the process? Welcoming committees? Food and furniture upon arrival? Friendship?
• What other ways can I help your organization support Afghan refugees?
• I want you to know our community is ready to open our hearts to Afghans seeking refuge, so please do anything your organization can to help, and we will do everything we can to support those efforts.

Our concerns for the situation in Afghanistan is rooted in the danger it presents to multiple MWEG Principles of Ethical Government, including:

• PEG 1f: Governments have an ethical obligation to abide by international agreements and honor their nation’s treaty commitments (see Numbers 30:2).
• PEG 1g: Nations must observe domestic and international law governing both the initiation and conduct of war, using war only as a last resort and for defensive purposes (see D&C 98:23-32, Alma 48:14, and Mormon 4:4).
• PEG 2: Every human being is endowed with rights that governments are obligated to protect and not violate. These include both universal human rights such as the rights to life and liberty, as well as civil rights such as the rights to equitable political representation and equal protection under the law (see D&C 134:1-2). 
• PEG 2b: Special care should be taken to protect the rights of the minority from undue infringement by the majority (see Exodus 23:2 and Proverbs 31:8-9).
• PEG 2c: All people are entitled to equal protection and due process under the law and to be free from arbitrary deprivation of their life, liberty, property, and privacy. Criminal justice and national security institutions must be designed in ways that preserve and uphold those rights for all people equally (see D&C 101:77).
• PEG 2d: Freedom of conscience, religion, speech, and assembly are among the most inalienable of rights. In order to protect these rights for all people, governments should not favor or discriminate against people on the basis of their identity or beliefs (see D&C 134:4, 7, 9 and Alma 30:11).
• PEG 2g: War inherently involves the destruction of life, and suffering in war disproportionately afflicts the most vulnerable, including women and children. Disputes among and within nations should be resolved peacefully through diplomacy and negotiation (see D&C 98:16).
• PEG 3: All human beings are mutually accountable to their fellow human beings in their local communities, their countries, and the world (see Matthew 22:37-40).
• 3(d) People have moral responsibilities to provide succor and relief to their fellow human beings fleeing war, violence, persecution, and natural disasters, regardless of their race, nationality, or religion (see Leviticus 19:33-34, Matthew 25:31-40, and Alma 27:21-24).