We, the undersigned, hold serious concerns for the safety of LGBTQIA+ people in Afghanistan since the Taliban have returned to power.

The Taliban’s extreme beliefs proscribe that all LGBTQIA+ people be executed either by stoning or a method called “walling” in which a wall or other structure is collapsed upon the person.

There have already been many credible reports emerging from Afghanistan of executions and extra-judicial killings of LGBTQIA+ people.

I am the Editor of DNA, an LGBTQIA+ publication, and we have had direct messages from Afghans, asking us to reach out to the world for help.  

We call on the Australian Government to immediately extend its humanitarian evacuation of Afghanistan to include LGBTQIA+ people whose lives are in imminent danger and, after the evacuation, to create a pathway to exiting Afghanistan to Australia as asylum seekers.

It is vital that this humanitarian effort be made before the August 31 withdrawal deadline. After the withdrawal, the Taliban will be free to pursue their hardline persecution of LGBTQIA+ people. 

UPDATE 27/08/2021: Although the Australian evacuation has finished, we call on the government to extend humanitarian visa applications to LGBTQIA+ people from Afghanistan. 

Read about the situation here: https://www.dnamagazine.com.au/numerous-reports-of-lgbtqia-killings-by-taliban-in-afghanistan/