Letter of Protest to the European Union

Leiden, 11-07-2025

To: Her Excellency, Mrs. Kaya Kallas, Head of European External Action Service (EEAS)

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

European Commission

Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200

1049 Brussels, Belgium

Subject: Urgent Appeal Regarding EU Inaction on the Forced Deportation of Afghan Refugees by Iran and Pakistan

Her Excellency Mrs. Kaya Kallas ,

I am writing to you on behalf of hundreds of concerned citizen of the European Union, namely the members of  the member organizations of the FAROE who are deeply troubled by the deafening silence and apparent indifference of the EU and its Member States in response to the ongoing forced deportation of Afghan refugees by the governments of Iran and Pakistan.

Thousands of Afghan men, women, and children—many of whom fled unimaginable violence, gender apartheid, and political persecution—are being forcibly returned to Afghanistan, a country still gripped by a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. These deportations occur in the face of widespread famine, the collapse of the healthcare system, and the absence of any functioning or legitimate state infrastructure under Taliban rule.

Most egregiously, women and girls—many of whom had sought refuge from the Taliban’s institutionalized misogyny and denial of basic rights—are now being returned to the very conditions of oppression from which they escaped. This is in clear violation of international refugee law and the principle of *non-refoulement*, to which Iran and Pakistan are bound as signatories to core human rights conventions.

While the suffering of these vulnerable populations escalates, the European Union—a global advocate for human rights and gender equality—remains conspicuously silent. This lack of response stands in sharp contrast to the EU’s stated commitments to the protection of refugees and the defense of women’s and girls’ rights in crisis zones.

The EU must urgently:

1. Publicly condemn the mass deportations and forced returns of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan;

2. Engage diplomatically with both countries to halt these violations and demand compliance with international obligations;

3. Mobilize emergency humanitarian assistance for deported families, with targeted support for women and children;

4. Increase EU resettlement commitments and open safe, legal pathways for vulnerable Afghans, particularly women at risk;

5. Establish a dedicated protection mechanism for Afghan women and girls fleeing gender persecution, including urgent relocation, legal aid, and trauma services;

6. Advocate for independent human rights monitoring in Afghanistan and support accountability efforts.

Europe’s credibility as a defender of human rights is at stake. Indifference in the face of such suffering is not neutrality, it is complicity.

I urge you to act without further delay.

Sincerely,

Mr. Ali Daliry, chairperson,

On behalf of the Executive Committee of FAROE