Involuntary returns to Afghanistan spark worry in the international community.

Photo by Farid Ershad on Unsplash.com 

The international community is raising alarm bells against the worsening problem of forced returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to their home country. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has launched an especially worried alarm, warning that Afghan refugees continue to be involuntarily removed from countries where they had sought safety and sent back to their home country, thus being exposed to risks of grave human rights violations. The numbers of these forced returns are adding up by the year. Between 2023 and 2024, around 700.000 returns were recorded, while estimates for 2025 reach up to 2.9 million people. Figures for 2026 already total almost 300.000 returns. The hosting countries responsible for these returns include not only neighbours such as Pakistan and Iran, but also EU countries, who are reportedly increasingly engaging in negotiations with Taliban authorities to facilitate forced returns.

As reported by the Human Rights Service of UNAMA, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, specific population groups are at risk of grave human rights violations by the de facto authorities of the Taliban government upon returning: these include women and girls, members of the former government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its security forces, civil society activists and human rights defenders, journalists. Reports have already denounced violations including arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention, torture, ill-treatment and extra-judicial killings at the hands of the de facto authorities.

The situation has sparked concern also because it is putting further strain onto a country who’s already struggling: the societal instability in the wake of the return of the Taliban, the dire consequences of the drought of 2025, and the overall humanitarian crisis affecting the country, worsened by cuts to humanitarian relief, are contributing to a faltering economy and infrastructure and to an overall very weak state. Taking on the task of dealing with large-scale returns is a political commitment that the country likely cannot sustain. This strain also reflects on the life of returnees, the overwhelming majority of which have reported not being able to sustain their basic needs.

The situation has also been denounced as a grave infringement upon refugee law, as it violates the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returns of refugees to territories where they would be exposed to irreparable harm, such as threats to their life, freedom or human rights. The returns are especially problematic in light of the absence of individualised risk assessments for pending return processes, as the sheer number of people being repatriated makes upholding such a guarantee near impossible. 

The Head of the UNAMA has warned that Afghanistan “cannot absorb this shock alone”: the UN is calling for an integrated approach that couples providing resources for guaranteeing subsistence for Afghan citizens and scaling up material assistance to help deal with returns. At a time when humanitarian aid for Afghanistan is dwindling, the UN is urging development partners not to turn a blind eye to the dire situation of the country.

written by Alessia Milillo