Richard Bennett: Europe Must Not Return Afghans to Danger

Photo: UN

Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, has called on the European Union and its member states not to return Afghans to places where they face danger.

Bennett said on Tuesday (23 June) on his X account, in response to the invitation of a Taliban delegation to Brussels, that the principle of non-refoulement is “absolute” and “non-derogable” and that no exceptions are permitted.

The reaction came after the European Union invited a Taliban delegation to Brussels for talks on the return of a number of Afghan asylum seekers. European officials have said the talks are technical and do not amount to formal recognition of the Taliban.

Bennett said torture remains a real and serious risk in Afghanistan. According to him, no assurances or guarantees from the Taliban can remove this risk.

Meanwhile, Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has also condemned the invitation of the Taliban to Brussels. She wrote on her X account on Monday (22 June) that she was “shocked and deeply disturbed” by the move.

Malala said the Taliban are the same group that banned girls from going to school and excluded women and girls from public life.

She added that through “gender apartheid”, the Taliban have deprived women and girls in Afghanistan of education, work and social participation.

Malala stressed, “Any engagement with the Taliban must begin and end with the rights of Afghan women and girls.”

The invitation of the Taliban to Brussels has prompted widespread reactions from human rights activists and organisations defending asylum seekers. Critics say engagement with the Taliban, even at a technical level, could grant the group legitimacy and put the safety of Afghan returnees at risk.

These concerns come as the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan over nearly the past five years, from closing the doors of schools and universities to girls to banning women from work.

Human rights organisations have warned that returning Afghans to Afghanistan, especially under the current conditions, could expose them to detention, torture, persecution and serious human rights violations.