Geneva, May 22 (IANS) United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk on Friday warned against the continued forced repatriation of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, calling it a violation of international human rights and refugee law.
“Afghan women, children and men continue to be pushed out of countries where they had sought safety, forcing them to return to Afghanistan against their will and exposing them to grave risk,” said Turk.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), nearly 270,000 Afghans have been deported to Afghanistan since the beginning of the year, almost mainly from Iran and Pakistan, with relatively smaller numbers from Turkey and Tajikistan. This comes in addition to the over 1.2 million Afghan refugees deported from Iran and 150,000 from Pakistan last year.
The UN human rights agency stressed that women and girls, individuals affiliated with the former Afghan government and its security forces, media workers, civil society, and members of the LGBTIQ+ community remain at grave risk of reprisals and human rights abuses.
“Returning individuals at serious risk of human rights violations involuntarily to Afghanistan runs contrary to the core international law principle of non-refoulement. I urge States to abide by their international legal obligations and protect Afghans by not taking any action that exposes them to irreparable harm upon return,” Turk stated.
A 2025 UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) report, titled “No Safe Haven”, revealed that Afghan refugees forcibly deported to Afghanistan experienced a range of serious human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the Taliban authorities.
While several European Union (EU) member states seek a more coordinated approach to returns of Afghan nationals, the UN human rights chief also expressed concerns over mounting reports that some countries in Europe are now resuming or considering deportations, despite the very severe human rights situation in Afghanistan.
Turk said that the proposed new EU rules on returns, which are currently under review, have also sparked concerns, as these could weaken human rights safeguards and expose people to harm.
“I strongly caution against all involuntary returns to Afghanistan in the absence of individualised risk assessments, which are required by and must be carried out in accordance with international human rights and refugee law,” he stated.
Apart from the grave human rights situation, the UN human rights agency said that Afghanistan faces a precarious humanitarian situation and cross-border insecurity, particularly since October 2025. The last quarter, it said, recorded the highest level of civilian casualties since the Taliban takeover —-which was driven by escalating hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
–IANS
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