More than 80 Afghan and international civil society organizations and human rights groups have called on the European Union not to host Taliban representatives in Brussels, warning that any official engagement could contribute to the normalization and implicit recognition of the Taliban rule.
In an open letter addressed to EU institutions, member states and policymakers, the groups expressed “grave concerns” over reports that Taliban representatives could travel to Brussels in June for talks linked to the deportation of Afghan migrants from Europe.
The letter comes amid reports that the European Commission is considering discussions with Taliban officials on the return of Afghan nationals facing deportation orders, following requests from several European governments seeking greater cooperation on migrant returns.
“The Taliban do not represent the people of Afghanistan, as they lack domestic democratic legitimacy,” the organizations wrote. “Any official engagement with Taliban representatives, particularly on European soil, carries significant legal, political and symbolic implications. It risks being perceived as a form of normalization or implicit recognition.”
The groups noted that two senior Taliban leaders are currently subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on allegations related to gender-based persecution, while several Taliban figures remain under international sanctions, including European Union sanctions regimes.
The letter argues that conditions cited by the European Union for engagement with the Taliban — particularly respect for human rights and women’s rights — have not been met.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including bans on secondary and higher education, severe limits on employment, restrictions on movement and exclusion from much of public life. The organizations said those measures have been described by UN experts, legal scholars and international prosecutors as potentially amounting to gender persecution under international law.
The signatories also cited reports of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture and reprisals against journalists, human rights defenders and former government officials. They said a lack of independent monitoring has made it difficult to determine the full scale of abuses but warned that accountability for victims remains absent.
A major focus of the letter is the growing debate over deportations of Afghan asylum seekers from Europe.
The groups urged European governments to immediately halt forced returns to Afghanistan, arguing that such deportations could violate the international principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning individuals to places where they face persecution or serious harm. They said the risk is particularly acute for women and girls.
“Afghanistan is currently one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman,” the letter states, warning that forced returns could expose many people to persecution, violence and severe deprivation of rights.
The organizations called on the EU to refrain from political or diplomatic engagement with Taliban representatives, support international justice efforts related to Afghanistan, cooperate with International Criminal Court investigations and ensure that the rights of Afghan women and girls are not used as bargaining chips in migration negotiations.
The letter was signed by 77 Afghan organizations and networks and seven international human rights groups, including the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Civil Rights Defenders, Parliamentarians for Global Action and Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice.
