UN expert warns against EU negotiations with Taliban on mass deportations of Afghans. He talks about the serious risk of violating human rights and the principle of non-refoulement.
The UN expert on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, expressed deep concern on Wednesday that the European Union is going to negotiate with the radical Afghan ruling Taliban movement on the deportation of Afghans. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
- Richard Bennett expressed deep concern about the planned EU negotiations with the Taliban.
- The European Union is preparing to deport Afghans without residence rights back to Afghanistan.
- According to Bennett, the return of Afghans carries a high risk of serious human rights violations.
- Taliban representatives are to meet representatives of the European Union in Brussels.
- The Taliban visit, coordinated by the European Commission, follows on from reconnaissance trips to Afghanistan.
The EU is working on plans to deport all those who do not have the right to stay in the bloc back to Afghanistan, despite concerns from human rights groups and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “The news that the EU is hosting Taliban officials to discuss the deportation of Afghans is deeply troubling,” Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, said on Platform X.
Risk of infringement of rights
“Any return risks violating the principle of non-refoulement due to widespread human rights violations, including against women, human rights defenders and former public officials,” he warned.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts who have been commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to report on their findings and therefore do not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself, AFP reminds. According to unnamed sources of the French agency, Taliban representatives will meet EU representatives in Brussels in the coming weeks for negotiations on the deportation of Afghans from the EU to their home country.
Coordinated visits
The visit by Taliban officials, coordinated by the European Commission (EC) and several EU member states, follows two trips by European officials to Afghanistan for “exploratory” discussions on the issue.
The European Commission refused to respond to Bennett’s contribution. “I cannot confirm that a meeting with the de facto representatives of Afghanistan is planned in Brussels at this time, nor that an invitation has been sent to them,” EC spokesman Markus Lammert said on Tuesday. The Afghan government has not yet responded to AFP’s request for comment.
