In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, published on 30 March, Bishop Christopher, and other Bishops called on the UK Government to commit more for Afghanistan ahead of the UN Pledging Conference on Afghanistan taking place today.
The Editor
The Daily Telegraph
25 March 2022
Dear Sir
Afghan Pledging Summit 31st March 2022
While the tragic and horrific events in Ukraine dominate our thoughts and prayers for good reason, we must not forget the suffering of the Afghan people who are facing famine and chaos, and where women are being ‘erased from public life.’ With 24 million people already in need of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, the impact of the Ukraine crisis on wheat prices is pushing up the cost of staples and threatens to make an already bad situation worse.
We commend the British Government for working with the UN, Germany and Qatar to co-host the High-Level Afghanistan pledging conference to support the humanitarian response in Afghanistan on 31st March. This commitment, however, must be coupled with the UK showing its generosity and increasing its own contribution to the crisis response through both humanitarian and development assistance, including direct support to Afghan NGOs. Compared with the UN’s target of $4.4 billion, the £286 million so far promised by the UK is a drop in the ocean, and by no means reflects the extent of our historic responsibility. The UK has a moral duty to lead by example by pledging substantial new funding.
Furthermore, whilst aid is essential to save lives, it is important the UK Government uses its influence to take the bold decisions needed to rebuild civil society and stabilise the economy of Afghanistan for the long term. Critical infrastructure such as hospitals and schools are failing, and Afghans can’t get their money out of the bank. The British government must work with others to find political and technical solutions for this.
If we fail, then the suffering of the Afghan people will only get worse and this avoidable crisis will stain the conscience of us all.
Yours sincerely,
The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun the Bishop of Southwark, Lead Bishop on Foreign Affairs and Immigration Church of England
The Rt Revd Dr John Perumbalath, the Bishop of Bradwell, Chair of Churches Refugee Network
The Rt Revd Declan Lang Bishop of Clifton, Lead Bishop for International Affairs, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
The Rt Revd John Arnold, Bishop of Salford, Chair of CAFOD
The Rt Revd Tom Neylon, Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool, Lead Bishop for Asia, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
