KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the French government to halt any plans to deport Afghan migrants to Afghanistan, which is under Taliban control, warning that their return could expose them to persecution, torture and other serious human rights abuses.
Farashta Abbasi, an Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said deporting Afghans from France would put them at risk of persecution, torture and other serious human rights violations, in breach of France’s international human rights obligations.
The French government recently confirmed that it had begun “technical discussions” with the Taliban to facilitate the deportation of undocumented Afghan nationals.
France’s Foreign Ministry said the discussions aim to facilitate the deportation of Afghan nationals who are residing illegally in French territory and are considered a threat to national security.
Abbasi described the technical discussions as a “dangerous shift” in France’s policy towards Afghan migrants.
She said French officials had indicated that the talks were limited in scope but had provided no guarantees that people at particular risk, including women, would be protected from harm and persecution.
“French cooperation with the Taliban on a returns process would be with full knowledge of the Taliban’s responsibility for grave human rights violations and systematic oppression,” Abbasi said.
She stressed that no country should force asylum seekers to return to Afghanistan while the Taliban continue to commit widespread human rights abuses.
“France should suspend any plan for deportations, and any cooperation on migration control should not be used as a vehicle for sending people back to a country where they would face a real risk of persecution or worse,” the Afghanistan researcher said.
The discussions between France and the Taliban follow a visit by a Taliban delegation to Brussels, where it held talks with European Commission member states about the deportation of migrants.
Several other European countries, including Germany, have also held discussions with the Taliban over the return of Afghan nationals. Germany has deported 263 Afghan migrants to Afghanistan over the past year following an agreement with the Taliban.
European governments’ engagement with the Taliban over deportations comes amid widespread allegations of human rights violations by the group since it returned to power in August 2021. These include restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights and abuses against ethnic, religious and gender minorities.
There have also been multiple reports of returning Afghan migrants being detained and tortured by the Taliban, raising concerns about the safety of people sent back to the country.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced earlier in October 2026 that arrest warrants had been made public for Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and three other senior officials over alleged crimes against humanity, including gender-based and political persecution. The warrants were issued in 2025 and concern the persecution of women, girls and people perceived as supporting their rights.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has also urged countries to uphold the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning individuals to places where they face a real risk of persecution, torture or other serious harm. The agency has warned that significant protection concerns remain in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls.
