The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Amnesty International has urged the European Union and its member states to immediately halt efforts to deport Afghan nationals to Afghanistan, warning that the country remains unsafe for forced returns and that such deportations could violate international refugee and human rights law.
In a letter addressed to European Commissioner Magnus
Brunner and EU interior ministers, Amnesty said recent efforts by EU
institutions and member states to establish cooperation with the Taliban on
returns and readmissions were "reckless" and
"unconscionable."
The rights group said a Taliban delegation visited Brussels
on June 23, 2026, for meetings with the European Commission and representatives
of 15 EU member states to discuss technical cooperation on returns and
readmissions to Afghanistan.
According to Amnesty, the meeting followed an invitation
from the European Commission on May 12, 2026, a Commission visit to Kabul in
January and earlier calls by 19 EU member states and Norway for coordinated
efforts to accelerate returns to Afghanistan.
Amnesty said Afghanistan cannot currently be considered safe
for forced returns, citing widespread human rights violations, restrictions on
fundamental freedoms and risks faced by women, girls and ethnic and religious
minorities under the Taliban.
The organization said the Taliban have dismantled legal
protections that previously safeguarded fundamental rights and introduced
policies and practices that discriminate against women, girls and minorities.
It also alleged that violations include arbitrary arrests,
unlawful detention, enforced disappearances, torture and other abuses, while
women and girls have been largely excluded from public life.
Amnesty said the humanitarian situation has also
deteriorated, with drought, natural disasters and reductions in humanitarian
assistance adding to the country's challenges. It described Afghanistan as the
world's third-largest humanitarian crisis, with nearly 22 million people
requiring humanitarian assistance.
The organization said approximately 5.4 million Afghans have
returned since October 2023, many of whom face difficulties accessing shelter,
livelihoods, health care and other essential services.
Amnesty also pointed to continued cross-border hostilities
between the Taliban and Pakistan, saying the fighting has harmed civilians,
damaged civilian infrastructure and contributed to further displacement.
The organization warned that renewed deportations could
expose returnees to serious human rights violations and put European countries
at risk of violating the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits states
from returning people to places where they face a real risk of serious harm.
Amnesty also rejected the European Commission's position
that deportations would prioritize people convicted of "serious crimes or
pose a security threat."
The organization argued that protection against refoulement
applies regardless of a person's conduct or criminal record, citing European
human rights law.
Amnesty further warned that cooperation between the EU and
the Taliban on the return of Afghans convicted of crimes or considered security
threats could eventually pave the way for broader deportations of other Afghans
facing removal orders.
The rights group said such cooperation would conflict with
the EU's stated commitment to addressing human rights violations in
Afghanistan.
Amnesty urged the European Union and its member states to
abandon efforts to establish return and readmission cooperation with the
Taliban and to refrain from resuming deportations to Afghanistan.
It also called for any future engagement with the Taliban to
remain focused on addressing what it described as widespread and systemic human
rights violations in the country.
