A delegation from the Afghan Taliban is traveling to Brussels on Tuesday for closed-door talks with European Union staff, expected to focus on deportations, said a Taliban official. Afghans make up one of the largest groups of migrants seeking asylum in the European Union, but a growing number of governments in the 27-nation bloc want to speed up and increase deportations for those whose claims are rejected or who commit crimes in their host countries.
Afghan authorities have imposed draconian restrictions on rights, particularly for women and girls, since the Taliban seized power in the country in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US-led forces.
Rights groups said Tuesday’s meeting undercuts the EU’s human rights obligations and could endanger people in Europe and Afghanistan. “Any engagement with the Taliban needs to prioritize protecting human rights and accountability — not deporting people to danger there,” said Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. “EU countries are undermining their credibility by condemning Taliban abuses and pursuing accountability on one hand, while cooperating with the Taliban to forcibly return Afghans on the other.”
The five-person delegation in Brussels from the Taliban — a government that none of the 27 EU nations recognizes — includes Abdul, a New Zealand-born spokesperson for the Taliban’s foreign ministry, said a Taliban official speaking on condition of anonymity.
