47 Civil Society Groups Urge EU to Halt Normalization of Relations With Taliban

DID Press: Forty-seven Afghan and international civil society and human rights organizations have sent an open letter to senior European Union officials, warning against the normalization of relations with the Taliban and calling for an immediate halt to the deportation of Afghan asylum seekers.

The letter, published on Thursday (June 18), argues that any form of engagement with the Taliban—whether direct or technical—risks legitimizing their administration and endangering the rights and security of Afghan citizens.

The organizations expressed concern over recent discussions within the European Union regarding engagement with the Taliban, including invitations for Taliban representatives to travel to Brussels to discuss migration and deportation issues.

The letter was addressed to senior EU officials including Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa, Kaja Kallas, and Magnus Brunner.

Signatories warned that framing engagement with the Taliban as purely “technical” obscures the risks of legitimizing a governing authority accused of widespread and systematic human rights violations, including gender-based persecution and crimes against humanity.

The groups also criticized a recent initiative by 20 European countries prioritizing the return of undocumented Afghan nationals, arguing that such policies could lead to the criminalization of asylum seekers and conflict with the EU’s principle of non-refoulement under its Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Concerns were also raised over the potential transfer of Afghan consular services in Germany and Norway to Taliban representatives, which the organizations say could expose sensitive information of asylum seekers, particularly former government employees and human rights defenders.

Among the signatories are multiple Afghan and international advocacy organizations focused on democracy, human rights, LGBTQ+ protection, refugee rights, and civil society monitoring.