Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Kabul, Afghanistan
Kabul, Afghanistan - Credit: Casimiri / Wikimedia Commons - License: CC-BY-SA
Politics
Tweede Kamer
afghanistan
Kabul
Taliban
terrorism
interpreter
Dutch Armed Forces
d66
Sigrid Kaag
Ank Bijleveld
Ankie Broekers-Knol
ministry of foreign affairs
Ministry of Defense
Ministry of Justice and Security
asylum seeker
Tuesday, 17 August 2021 - 07:53
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

MPs want NL to take in all Afghans who worked with Dutch troops

A majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, wants the Netherlands to take in all Afghan people who worked on Dutch missions, and not just interpreters. A D66 motion to that effect got support from ChristenUnie, SP, GroenLinks, PvdA, DENK and the CDA, NU.nl reports.

The cabinet said last week that it planned to only take in interpreters who worked with the Dutch troops who were until recently stationed in Afghanistan, saying that opening this to more groups would lead to an "uncontrollable increase" in asylum applications.

On Monday evening, the involved Ministers informed the Kamer that they were simplifying the procedures and processes by which interpreters can be brought to the Netherlands. "The cabinet assures the Kamer that it will do everything it can to manage the evacuation from Afghanistan well," Ministers Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Affairs, Ank Bijleveld of Defense, and State Secretary Ankie Broekers Knol of Asylum said in a letter to parliament.

Due to the urgent situation in Afghanistan, with the Taliban conquering the capital of Kabul on Sunday and thousands trying to feel the country to the extent that planes were unable to land at the Kabul airport, the cabinet decided to drop a number of requirements in the procedure for interpreters to come to the Netherlands. This includes the requirement that the Ministry of Defense needs to confirm that the applicant indeed worked as an interpreter for the Dutch Armed Forces. Asylum applicants and their family must have a passport or other valid identity documents.

Parliament wants this courtesy to be extended to everyone who worked with Dutch troops, including security guards and logistics workers.

The cabinet is "seriously concerned" about the situation of Afghans who worked for the Netherlands or allies, the Ministers said. The government is therefore in talks with NATO allies and EU partners to get everyone to safety as quickly as possible.

The Tweede Kamer will debate the situation in Afghanistan with the involved Ministers on Tuesday. The Kamer has been calling on the cabinet for months to bring interpreters to the Netherlands. They've been in danger since NATO troops started withdrawing from Afghanistan. The Taliban considers them traitors. So the cabinet can expect some to face some critical MPs.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Several injured after car collision at gas station in Noord-Brabant; Fatal accident on the A65 near Tilburg
  • Verstappen wins in wet Monaco
  • FNV concludes collective bargaining agreements for TUI fly and easyJet after lengthy discussions
  • Feyenoord lose for the second time this season; Heerenveen set for playoffs
  • Stunning finish puts PSV in the Champions League, Ajax in Europa League
  • Police still looking for kidnapped man from Spanbroek

Top stories

  • Man found dead in apartment in Den Bosch after laying undiscovered for five months
  • Explosion at Surinamese money exchange office in Rotterdam, suspect on the run
  • Almost 1580 XR climate activists arrested on A12, 40 prosecuted
  • King Willem-Alexander will give speech on slavery commemoration, apology to be expected
  • Explosion at apartment in Rotterdam, no one injured
  • XR climate activists want to block A12 in The Hague, about 3000 protesters expected

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content