Afghan migrants: Germany and the Netherlands suspend deportations
A migrant camp in Friedland, Germany, in April 2016 (illustrative image).
REUTERS / Kai Pfaffenbach
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
A flip-flop in Berlin and Amsterdam, which announced on Wednesday August 11 the suspension of expulsions of Afghan migrants to their country of origin due to the fighting there between the Taliban and pro-government forces.
Publicity
Read more
It's a turnaround.
Six European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, had just sent a
joint letter
to the European Commission asking that the expulsions of Afghan migrants not be suspended.
This risked being interpreted, they said in their letter, as an encouragement to migrate to Europe.
They advocated support for countries neighboring Afghanistan so that they could receive refugees.
The worsening
situation in Afghanistan
got the better of their arguments.
"
Due to the development of the security situation
" in the country "
we will satisfy the request of the government in Kabul for a suspension of expulsions until October,
" said the head of German diplomacy.
► See also: Europe: an obsolete right to asylum in the face of the situation in Afghanistan?
Six-month moratorium
Events for the coming period are so uncertain that the moratorium on deportations and departures will apply for six months for Afghan nationals, a member of the Dutch government said.
The left-wing parties and associations for the defense of asylum seekers denounced this declared will of their respective governments to continue expulsions, despite the deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan.
►
To read also: Against the Afghan refugees, Turkey is building a concrete wall on its border with Iran
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Germany
Netherlands
International Migration
Afghanistan
Refugees
On the same subject
Afghanistan: facing the Taliban, President Ghani in Mazar-i-Sharif to remobilize his troops
Against Afghan refugees, Turkey is building a concrete wall on its border with Iran
International guest
Afghanistan: "Nobody expected such a rapid advance of the Taliban"