European External Action Service (EEAS)
Leiden, 15 august 2025
To:
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
European External Action Service (EEAS)
Brussels, Belgium
Subject: Four Years of Taliban Rule in Afghanistan – Urgent Call for Conditionality in EU Engagement
Dear Mrs. Kallas,
On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, we, the [Full Name of FAROE], write to express our deep concern over the continuing and systematic violations of human rights — particularly those affecting Afghan women, girls, and the younger generation.
For four years, Afghan girls have been denied secondary and higher education. Women have been erased from public life, stripped of their basic freedoms, and subjected to policies that amount to gender apartheid. This deliberate exclusion has caused irreparable damage to Afghanistan’s social fabric and future development.
At the same time, the Taliban have expanded an alarming network of an estimated 20,000 ideological schools where young Afghans are indoctrinated with a rigid and extremist worldview. This is not only a grave threat to the human rights of Afghan children but also a dangerous development for global peace and stability.
We urge the European Union and its Member States to:
- Condition all forms of assistance and cooperation with the Taliban on measurable and verifiable improvements in the rights of women and girls — especially the full restoration of their right to education at all levels.
- Publicly oppose and take concrete steps to stop the expansion of ideological indoctrination that undermines peace, pluralism, and tolerance.
- Increase support for Afghan civil society, independent media, and women’s rights defenders both inside and outside Afghanistan.
The EU has consistently championed human rights and gender equality as core values. At this critical juncture, those values must guide its policy toward Afghanistan. Engagement without conditionality risks legitimising repression and emboldening an agenda that threatens not only the Afghan people but the wider international community.
We trust in the EU’s moral responsibility and leadership to ensure that its actions contribute to the restoration of rights, dignity, and hope for all Afghans.
Sincerely,
Ali Daliry
president
FAROE – Federation of Afghan Resident Organizations in Europe