[Epoch Times August 23, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Angel New Zealand compiles a report) On August 18 (Wednesday), New Zealand Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi and other “Five Eyes Alliance” countries The immigration ministers held a virtual meeting to discuss the resettlement of Afghan refugees. Fafiyi said that New Zealand has no plans to change the number of refugees it currently accepts. However, as the situation in Afghanistan continued to deteriorate, New Zealand provided 3 million yuan in humanitarian assistance to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Refugee Agency in Afghanistan.
According to NZ Herald, the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand participated in the meeting. The meeting discussed “how countries plan to provide a safe route for Afghan refugees.”
Britain announced that it will accept 20,000 refugees, and the first 5,000 refugees will arrive in the UK next year. The United Kingdom is the second “Five Eyes” country that has promised to resettle more Afghan refugees. Prior to this, Canada promised to resettle more than 20,000 Afghans from organizations that might be attacked by the Taliban.
The New Zealand Department of Immigration has reiterated the New Zealand government’s existing commitment to work with partners in Afghanistan to respond to the rapidly evolving humanitarian situation. However, the ministry said that apart from the UN refugee program, New Zealand has not discussed a separate refugee system for Afghanistan with other partner countries. New Zealand has no plans to change the number of refugees it currently accepts.
Since 2014, New Zealand has accepted 848 Afghan refugees. However, in terms of population, New Zealand has one of the lowest refugee acceptance rates in the world, ranking 95th in the world. New Zealand receives 1,500 refugees each year, which is equivalent to 0.3 per 1,000 people. Countries of similar size, such as Norway and Ireland, accepted 11.29 and 1.22 refugees for every 1,000 residents, ranking 15th and 69th.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is very serious, millions of people need help, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the recent conflict. According to reports, 80% of them are women and girls. She called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law, protect aid workers and civilians from harm, and support the right to freedom of movement.
At the same time, a C-130 Hercules carrying military personnel left Auckland on August 19 to help the relevant personnel evacuate from Afghanistan. The evacuees will include New Zealanders, Afghans and other foreign citizens from Afghanistan. The team is expected to return within four weeks.
Recently, New Zealand has expressed concern about the expansion of the influence of the “Five Eyes Alliance”. Strictly speaking, the “Five Eyes Alliance” is an intelligence sharing alliance. Fafiyi’s office said the meeting was not a “Five Eyes Alliance” meeting, although the meeting did include members from these five countries.
Editor in charge: Lan Ke
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