KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Nearly 50 Afghan and international civil society organizations have urged the European Union to suspend engagement with the Taliban and halt deportations of Afghan migrants, warning that current policies risk legitimizing the regime and violating international law.
In a joint open letter signed by 47 groups, including UK-based Rawadari, and published on Thursday, the organizations addressed senior EU officials including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
The letter expressed deep concern over what it described as the “growing normalization” of EU states’ contacts with the Taliban, particularly on migration management and deportation arrangements. Some EU states have characterized the contacts as “technical-level” engagement, the signatories said.
Such cooperation risks conferring legitimacy on the Taliban, whom the groups accused of widespread human rights violations and alleged crimes against humanity, including gender persecution, according to the letter.
“We strongly believe that any migration cooperation framework with the Taliban must be assessed against the EU’s legal and human rights obligations and should not result in direct or indirect legitimization of de facto authorities responsible for widespread and systematic human rights violations,” the signatories said.
The groups highlighted a recent initiative by 20 European countries urging the European Commission to prioritize the return of undocumented Afghans, describing it as a “dangerous precedent.”
They noted that engagement is occurring amid an institutionalized system of gender oppression, as described by UN experts and human rights organizations, raising ethical and legal concerns over cooperation with a regime that continues to restrict the rights of women, girls, LGBTQ individuals and people with disabilities.
The letter also raised concern about the transfer of some Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions in Europe to Taliban-appointed representatives, citing fears among Afghan refugees, former officials and activists that personal data could be shared with the Taliban, endangering individuals and their families.
The organizations criticized efforts by some European countries to increase returns of undocumented Afghans, warning that such policies could violate international refugee and human rights law. They called for decisions on deportations to be based on individualized assessments.
The letter pointed to ongoing widespread abuses in Afghanistan, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and systematic discrimination, as well as worsening humanitarian conditions and hunger driving displacement.
The signatories called on the EU to end engagement and cooperation with the Taliban, suspend returns of Afghan migrants to Afghanistan, and support meaningful participation of Afghan victims of grave crimes, particularly gender persecution, in international discussions on Afghanistan.
The appeal comes after the European Commission confirmed last month it invited a Taliban delegation to Brussels for technical talks on facilitating the deportation of Afghans whose asylum applications had been rejected or who had committed crimes in European countries.
Belgium has recently said it is reviewing visa applications for members of the Taliban delegation.
The EU does not formally recognize the Taliban administration that took power in August 2021. The invitation has drawn criticism from human rights organizations, UN experts, Afghan activists, women’s groups, diaspora communities, several European Parliament members and media watchdogs, who argue that even limited contacts risk legitimizing a regime accused of severe abuses, particularly against women and girls, and that Afghanistan remains unsafe for forced returns.
