FAC issues call for evidence for follow-up to Afghanistan inquiry

• Call for evidence: Follow-up to Afghanistan inquiry
• Foreign Affairs Committee

The Committee will hold an evidence session on 17 October marking one year since the Government’s response to the Committee’s report.

In May 2022 the Committee concluded that there were systemic failures of intelligence, diplomacy, planning and preparation in the UK Government’s handling of its withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the Government’s response, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) acknowledged that there were “fundamental lessons to learn” from the withdrawal, and that it was “determined to raise standards” in preparing for and responding to future crises.

The deadline for submitting written evidence is 3 October.

The Committee welcomes written evidence evaluating the Government’s response to the Afghanistan withdrawal since May 2022, including but not limited to:  

• Progress and success of the Afghanistan Resettlement Scheme pathways and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme
• Change in FCDO intelligence, planning, preparation, cross-Government coordination, prioritisation and agility in crisis situations 
• Change in FCDO leadership and capability in crisis management
• Ability of the FCDO to manage complex evacuations and closure of Embassies 
• The UK’s relationship with Afghanistan including the security, counter-terrorism, human rights and humanitarian impact of the Taliban’s takeover, and the implications for wider UK foreign policy

Form of written evidence:  

Submissions should be no longer than 3,000 words. The main body of any submission should use numbered paragraphs. Each submission should contain:  

• a short summary, perhaps in bullet point form;  
• a brief introduction about the person or organisation submitting evidence, for example explaining their area of expertise or experience;  
• any factual information from which the Committee might be able to draw conclusions, or which could be put to other witnesses;  
• any recommendations for action by the Government or others which the submitter would like the Committee to consider for inclusion in its report to the House.  

Submissions should be in malleable format such as MS Word (not PDFs) with no use of colour or logos. 

Guidance on submitting written evidence and data protection information is available here: Guidance on submitting written evidence.  

Further information

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