Germany, Dutch halt Afghan expulsions as 4 EU states ready to deport

Germany and the Netherlands have abruptly reversed course and said they would not for the time being deport Afghan citizens who are seeking asylum, given the rapidly escalating conflict in their homeland. But at least four other European countries are planning to forcibly deport asylum seekers to their war-torn country.

Wednesday's decisions by Berlin and the Hague contradict a letter that they had signed along with the four other states to the European Commission last week insisting on their right to forcibly deport Afghan asylum seekers whose cases had been rejected.

Despite the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, the six European countries – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands – insisted in the letter that Afghan citizens who have sought asylum in Europe can be deported back to Kabul, despite the Afghan government suspending such "non-voluntary returns" for three months in July.

The European Union is not in a position to deal with a repeat of the migration crisis in 2015 and must try to keep people from fleeing the growing conflict in Afghanistan, Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said on Wednesday.

Mitararchi, who last week co-signed the letter, said ending such returns "would send the wrong message".

"It would lead more people trying to leave and come to the European Union," Mitarachi told Reuters.

Under Taliban siege 

The Taliban have made sweeping gains across the country in recent weeks, capturing several provincial capitals in the last week. 

Their advance has displaced thousands of people to the capital and other cities, often with little more than food handouts from the government and volunteer groups.

The UN has estimated that since the beginning of the year nearly 400,000 Afghans have been internally displaced within the country – some 244,000 since May alone.

But in a letter dated August 5, the interior ministers of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands urged the EU’s executive branch to “intensify talks” with the Afghan government to ensure that the deportations of asylum seekers whose applications were rejected would continue.

“We would like to highlight the urgent need to perform returns, both voluntary and non-voluntary, to Afghanistan,” the ministers wrote to the European Commission. “Stopping returns sends the wrong signal and is likely to motivate even more Afghan citizens to leave their home for the EU.”

The commission confirmed on Tuesday that it had received the letter and would reply when ready. 

Asked whether Afghanistan is a safe place to forcibly send people, spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said: “It is up to each (EU) member state to make an individual assessment of whether a return is possible.”

Since July 9 in four cities alone – Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, Herat and Kunduz – at least 183 civilians have been killed and 1,181 injured, including children, the UN said, adding that reports of violations that “could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity” have also emerged.

READ MORE: War-weary Afghans struggle to make ends meet as thousands are displaced

Netherlands and Germany backtracking

The Netherlands on Wednesday reversed course and said it would not deport Afghanistan citizens who are seeking asylum there for the coming six months.

In a letter to parliament, Dutch deputy Justice Minister Ankie Broekers-Knol said the Netherlands had planned to update its policy on Afghanistan in October but had made the decision now "in light of the quickly deteriorating situation" there.

"The situation is undergoing such changes and developments and is so uncertain for the coming time, that I have decided to impose a freeze on decisions and deportations" in ongoing asylum cases, Broekers-Knol wrote.

A spokesperson for the ministry noted that while last week's letter represented the government's view at the time, it had not conducted any forced deportations in the past half year and had not had any planned.

Germany also backtracked on last week's letter as the Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday it has now officially stopped deportations to Afghanistan.

"Due to current developments in the security situation, the interior minister has decided to suspend deportations to Afghanistan for the time being," ministry spokesman Steve Alter wrote on Twitter.

'Hard to imagine forced returns' to Afghanistan

Despite the Taliban's rapid advances and few signs that the long-stalled peace talks between the Taliban and the Kabul government will resume soon, Europe is not facing any imminent threat of a major influx of Afghan migrants, a senior EU official said.

“We’re nowhere near a migratory crisis,” the official said, under customary condition of anonymity. 

But he acknowledged “a humanitarian drama” was unfolding as the fighting forces people from their homes and that up to half a million Afghan people could flee to neighbouring countries.

“Given the context, it is hard to imagine that we would conduct forced return operations for the moment,” the official said. 

He said that around 1,200 Afghans have been deported from EU nations this year and that most went willingly while 200 were forced to go.

The head of the International Organization for Migration, Antonio Vitorino, said in a statement on Tuesday that he was “extremely concerned by the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan – particularly the impact on mobile and displaced populations, including returnees.”

“The last few days have seen a deadly escalation of fighting in Helmand, Kandahar, Herat, Kunduz and Nimroz provinces, adding untold suffering in a country where over 5 million people are already displaced internally,” Vitorino said.

He warned that Afghanistan is “in the throes of a third wave of Covid-19 and a severe drought,” leaving almost half the population in need of emergency aid.

READ MORE: Why is the Taliban looking unstoppable in Afghanistan?