The Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for International Development and Diaspora have announced that Ireland will supply €1m in humanitarian funding to support the people of Afghanistan.
This funding will be provided to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide urgent support to people in Afghanistan, as well as to those who have fled into neighbouring countries.
On Monday evening, the Irish government confirmed that they've also provided an additional 150 humanitarian visas for Afghans under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP).
The allocation of up to 150 refugee resettlement places under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme is in addition to 45 visas already approved in recent days for Afghans in similar circumstances.
On Tuesday, Minister Coveney participated in an emergency meeting of EU Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
The Foreign Affairs Council issued a Declaration after the meeting, reiterating the EU’s commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights in Afghanistan, in particular those of women and girls, and of minorities and emphasising that Afghanistan must honour its international obligations, including under the UN Charter.
They also discussed the coordination of evacuation efforts, to ensure that EU citizens seeking to leave Afghanistan are facilitated to do so as soon as possible.
Minister Coveney also said that that work is ongoing to finalise the processing of places for up to 150 Afghan nationals and their families under the Refugee Protection Programme.
Ireland will also organise a meeting this week of the UN Security Council informal expert group on Women, Peace and Security, specifically focused on Afghanistan
Minister Coveney said: “I have approved €1 million to the UN High Commission for Refugees for the people of Afghanistan. The situation in the country is incredibly worrying. Even before the events of the last few weeks, there were already almost three million Afghans displaced from their homes by insecurity. That figure is now rising.
“Ireland will continue to engage, including at the UN Security Council, to support peace in Afghanistan and to protect and promote the human rights of all Afghans, especially for women and girls. Ireland has also called for full and safe humanitarian access to allow life-saving support to reach all Afghans, including to respond to the urgent needs of families forced to flee their homes.”
