02/06/2026 Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Lord Michael German (United Kingdom, ALDE), PACE General Rapporteur on Migration and Asylum, and Maria Syrengela (Greece, EPP/CD), Rapporteur on The deterioration of women’s rights in Afghanistan: the need for a global response, have expressed alarm at the European Commission’s upcoming talks with Taliban officials on returns to Afghanistan.
“Any engagement with the de facto Taliban authorities should aim to secure unconditional respect for and protection of the human rights of women, girls and minorities in Afghanistan. Inviting them to Brussels to co-ordinate returns does not fit with that aim and risks legitimising a regime that has just legalised violence against women and marriage with children reaching puberty,” they said.
In a 2023 resolution, the Assembly said that deportations to Afghanistan are not acceptable and that forced removals should immediately be halted.
“The human rights situation in Afghanistan remains dire and deeply unstable. OHCHR reports ongoing persecution, torture and the repression of women, girls, minorities and dissenters. The Taliban have made attacks against women’s rights a priority in their political action, with systemic discrimination and exclusion,” the rapporteurs pointed out.
“Under these circumstances, deportations to Afghanistan are not acceptable and should be stopped immediately, in line with interim measures ordered by the European Court of Human Rights. We call on the EU and its member states to stop forced returns to Afghanistan and to make any engagement with the Taliban conditional on their respect for human rights.”