ONLY SENDING MEN BACK, EH WOT
GENDER APARTHEID STATE
The European Union is moving towards closer cooperation with Afghanistan's Taliban regime over the return of Afghan migrants, despite legal and human rights concerns about sending people back to the country.
Issued on: 15/05/2026 - RFI
The European Union is moving towards closer cooperation with Afghanistan's Taliban regime over the return of Afghan migrants, despite legal and human rights concerns about sending people back to the country.
Issued on: 15/05/2026 - RFI
An Afghan asylum seeker sits outside a tent in Brussels in September 2023. European governments are pushing for closer cooperation with Taliban authorities over the return of Afghan migrants.
AFP - SIMON WOHLFAHRT
The European Commission this week confirmed that it had invited Taliban representatives to Brussels for technical talks on deportations, with EU officials saying the meeting could take place before the summer.
The discussions reflect growing pressure from several European governments seeking to send back rejected asylum seekers and Afghans convicted of crimes. Rights groups and migration analysts warn that conditions in Afghanistan remain unsafe.
“The European Commission, together with the Swedish Ministry of Justice, has sent a letter to the de facto authorities in Afghanistan asking them to take part in a technical meeting on the return of Afghan migrants,” European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert told journalists in Brussels on Tuesday.
He said that EU member states had mandated the European Union to maintain "operational dialogue" with the Taliban, but added this "in no way" amounted to a formal recognition of the regime.
Two technical meetings between European officials and Afghan authorities have already taken place in Kabul. This time, the talks would be held in Brussels, bringing Taliban representatives into the heart of EU institutions.
Planned EU-Taliban talks on return of Afghan nationals spark backlash
Deportation pressure
Several European governments have been pushing Brussels for months to restart deportations to Afghanistan, which were heavily restricted after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
Twenty countries, including Germany, Poland, Greece and Italy, sent a joint letter to Brussels in October 2025 calling for negotiations with the authorities in Kabul.
They argue that Europe needs to resume deportations of some rejected Afghan asylum seekers and people convicted of crimes because they pose a security risk.
Germany became the first European country to deport Afghans back to Taliban-run Afghanistan in August 2024. Since then, 121 Afghans living illegally in Germany have been returned to Kabul in three deportation operations.
German authorities said those deported had criminal records involving offences including sexual violence, homicide and assault – but an investigation this month by German broadcaster ZDF found Berlin was also targeting single Afghan men with no criminal convictions.
The European Commission this week confirmed that it had invited Taliban representatives to Brussels for technical talks on deportations, with EU officials saying the meeting could take place before the summer.
The discussions reflect growing pressure from several European governments seeking to send back rejected asylum seekers and Afghans convicted of crimes. Rights groups and migration analysts warn that conditions in Afghanistan remain unsafe.
“The European Commission, together with the Swedish Ministry of Justice, has sent a letter to the de facto authorities in Afghanistan asking them to take part in a technical meeting on the return of Afghan migrants,” European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert told journalists in Brussels on Tuesday.
He said that EU member states had mandated the European Union to maintain "operational dialogue" with the Taliban, but added this "in no way" amounted to a formal recognition of the regime.
Two technical meetings between European officials and Afghan authorities have already taken place in Kabul. This time, the talks would be held in Brussels, bringing Taliban representatives into the heart of EU institutions.
Planned EU-Taliban talks on return of Afghan nationals spark backlash
Deportation pressure
Several European governments have been pushing Brussels for months to restart deportations to Afghanistan, which were heavily restricted after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
Twenty countries, including Germany, Poland, Greece and Italy, sent a joint letter to Brussels in October 2025 calling for negotiations with the authorities in Kabul.
They argue that Europe needs to resume deportations of some rejected Afghan asylum seekers and people convicted of crimes because they pose a security risk.
Germany became the first European country to deport Afghans back to Taliban-run Afghanistan in August 2024. Since then, 121 Afghans living illegally in Germany have been returned to Kabul in three deportation operations.
German authorities said those deported had criminal records involving offences including sexual violence, homicide and assault – but an investigation this month by German broadcaster ZDF found Berlin was also targeting single Afghan men with no criminal convictions.
Afghan nationals arrive at Hanover-Langenhagen airport in Germany in September 2025. AFP - MICHAEL MATTHEY
Taliban representatives travelled to Germany in July last year after demanding that direct talks take place before further deportations could go ahead.
“We want to carry out regular returns, and that does not mean only charter flights, but also commercial flights,” German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in early October.
Austria followed 10 days later by deporting an Afghan refugee convicted of sexual offences and aggravated violence.
“These criminals must leave our country and where they come from does not matter,” Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said.
EU confirms 'contact' with Taliban in Afghanistan over migrant returns
Rights concerns
Rights groups and migration specialists say deportations to Afghanistan remain dangerous under Taliban rule.
“It is obvious that the conditions are not in place for people to return to Afghanistan,” Laurent Delbos from Forum Réfugiés, a French refugee support organisation, told RFI.
While European law does not completely prohibit deportations to Afghanistan, member states remain bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, which bans torture and inhuman treatment.
“Case law from recent decades prohibits returning people to countries where they would face this kind of treatment,” explained Matthieu Tardis, a migration policy specialist and co-director of the French migration research group Synergies Migrations.
Taliban representatives travelled to Germany in July last year after demanding that direct talks take place before further deportations could go ahead.
“We want to carry out regular returns, and that does not mean only charter flights, but also commercial flights,” German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in early October.
Austria followed 10 days later by deporting an Afghan refugee convicted of sexual offences and aggravated violence.
“These criminals must leave our country and where they come from does not matter,” Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said.
EU confirms 'contact' with Taliban in Afghanistan over migrant returns
Rights concerns
Rights groups and migration specialists say deportations to Afghanistan remain dangerous under Taliban rule.
“It is obvious that the conditions are not in place for people to return to Afghanistan,” Laurent Delbos from Forum Réfugiés, a French refugee support organisation, told RFI.
While European law does not completely prohibit deportations to Afghanistan, member states remain bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, which bans torture and inhuman treatment.
“Case law from recent decades prohibits returning people to countries where they would face this kind of treatment,” explained Matthieu Tardis, a migration policy specialist and co-director of the French migration research group Synergies Migrations.
Afghan refugees gather during a protest calling for support from the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR in Islamabad in May 2022. AFP - FAROOQ NAEEM
UN agencies have repeatedly issued warnings over human rights violations in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power. Reports have documented arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, political repression and what UN officials describe as “gender apartheid”.
Afghans were the largest group of asylum seekers in the European Union in 2025, while Eurostat figures showed that 73 percent received protection at the first stage of the asylum process.
The European Court of Human Rights blocked the deportation of an Afghan man from Sweden in March because of a “real risk of ill-treatment” if he returned, partly because of his “westernisation”.
Thousands of Afghan refugees return from Pakistan as border tensions boil over
Diplomatic line crossed
European governments are also trying to overcome practical barriers to deportations.
Without cooperation from the Taliban authorities on travel documents and flights, deportations remain difficult to carry out.
“These discussions must move forward if they want to implement these deportations,” Tardis explained.
Criticism has already emerged inside the European Parliament.
“For years, the European Commission has collaborated with some of the world’s most authoritarian regimes as part of European Union migration policy,” French Green member of the European Parliament Mélissa Camara told RFI.
"A new line has been crossed with the invitation of representatives of the Taliban regime. It marks a profound abandonment of the values and rights that form the foundation of the European Union."
Amnesty International researcher Zaman Sultani condemned what he called a “scandalous” shift that ignored arbitrary Taliban rule.
“Most of the deportees we spoke to are human rights activists who can no longer even return to where they lived or work because they fear being recognised and then tortured or killed,” he said. “But where can they return except home?”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called in July last year for “an immediate halt to forced returns of all Afghan refugees and asylum seekers”.
This article has been adapted from the original verison in French by Caroline Renaux.
UN agencies have repeatedly issued warnings over human rights violations in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power. Reports have documented arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, political repression and what UN officials describe as “gender apartheid”.
Afghans were the largest group of asylum seekers in the European Union in 2025, while Eurostat figures showed that 73 percent received protection at the first stage of the asylum process.
The European Court of Human Rights blocked the deportation of an Afghan man from Sweden in March because of a “real risk of ill-treatment” if he returned, partly because of his “westernisation”.
Thousands of Afghan refugees return from Pakistan as border tensions boil over
Diplomatic line crossed
European governments are also trying to overcome practical barriers to deportations.
Without cooperation from the Taliban authorities on travel documents and flights, deportations remain difficult to carry out.
“These discussions must move forward if they want to implement these deportations,” Tardis explained.
Criticism has already emerged inside the European Parliament.
“For years, the European Commission has collaborated with some of the world’s most authoritarian regimes as part of European Union migration policy,” French Green member of the European Parliament Mélissa Camara told RFI.
"A new line has been crossed with the invitation of representatives of the Taliban regime. It marks a profound abandonment of the values and rights that form the foundation of the European Union."
Amnesty International researcher Zaman Sultani condemned what he called a “scandalous” shift that ignored arbitrary Taliban rule.
“Most of the deportees we spoke to are human rights activists who can no longer even return to where they lived or work because they fear being recognised and then tortured or killed,” he said. “But where can they return except home?”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called in July last year for “an immediate halt to forced returns of all Afghan refugees and asylum seekers”.
This article has been adapted from the original verison in French by Caroline Renaux.
Sierra Leone has agreed to take in hundreds of West African migrants who are being deported by the United States, its foreign minister has said – the latest deal as part of the Trump administration's bid to accelerate removals.
Issued on: 16/05/2026 - RFI
Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Kabba, pictured at an Ecowas meeting in Abuja in December 2025, has said Sierra Leone will take in hundreds of West African migrants deported from the US. AFP - LIGHT ORIYE TAMUNOTONYE
The first flight of so-called third-country deportees will arrive in Sierra Leone on 20 May transporting 25 nationals from Senegal, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria, Foreign Minister Timothy Kabba told Reuters.
“Sierra Leone signed a Third Country National Agreement with the US to accept 300 Ecowas citizens from the US per year with a maximum of 25 a month," Kabba said, referring to the 15-member West African regional bloc.
The US has previously sent third-country deportees to African states including Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Eswatini.
The move has been criticised by legal experts and rights groups over the legal basis for the transfers and the treatment of deportees sent to countries where they are not nationals.
Deportees to Africa forced home
Sierra Leone's arrangement to accept only deportees from Ecowas countries is similar to that of Ghana.
Deportees sent to Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and elsewhere on the continent have then been forced to return to their home countries despite receiving court-ordered protection in the US designed to prevent that from happening.
It is unclear whether the deportees sent to Sierra Leone will be allowed to stay there.
Kabba did not say what Sierra Leone would get in return for taking in the deportees, but noted it was "part of our bilateral relationship with the US to assist with its immigration policy".
In a report published in February entitled "At what cost?", Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the total cost of third-country removals was unknown, but that more than $32 million had been sent directly to five countries – Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini and Palau.
The US and Sierra Leone have been at odds on deportations before. In 2017, during the first Trump administration, Washington said the US Embassy in Freetown would deny tourist and business visas to Sierra Leonean foreign ministry and immigration officials because the government was refusing to take in Sierra Leonean deportees.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new agreement with Sierra Leone. The White House and the State Department have previously said the deportations are lawful.
(with newswires)
The first flight of so-called third-country deportees will arrive in Sierra Leone on 20 May transporting 25 nationals from Senegal, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria, Foreign Minister Timothy Kabba told Reuters.
“Sierra Leone signed a Third Country National Agreement with the US to accept 300 Ecowas citizens from the US per year with a maximum of 25 a month," Kabba said, referring to the 15-member West African regional bloc.
The US has previously sent third-country deportees to African states including Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Eswatini.
The move has been criticised by legal experts and rights groups over the legal basis for the transfers and the treatment of deportees sent to countries where they are not nationals.
Deportees to Africa forced home
Sierra Leone's arrangement to accept only deportees from Ecowas countries is similar to that of Ghana.
Deportees sent to Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and elsewhere on the continent have then been forced to return to their home countries despite receiving court-ordered protection in the US designed to prevent that from happening.
It is unclear whether the deportees sent to Sierra Leone will be allowed to stay there.
Kabba did not say what Sierra Leone would get in return for taking in the deportees, but noted it was "part of our bilateral relationship with the US to assist with its immigration policy".
In a report published in February entitled "At what cost?", Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the total cost of third-country removals was unknown, but that more than $32 million had been sent directly to five countries – Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini and Palau.
The US and Sierra Leone have been at odds on deportations before. In 2017, during the first Trump administration, Washington said the US Embassy in Freetown would deny tourist and business visas to Sierra Leonean foreign ministry and immigration officials because the government was refusing to take in Sierra Leonean deportees.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new agreement with Sierra Leone. The White House and the State Department have previously said the deportations are lawful.
(with newswires)
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