The Kabul Tribune (KT) — European Parliament member Hannah Neumann has accused Germany and the European Union of failing Afghans again, five years after the Taliban seized control of Kabul.
In a post on X ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Taliban takeover, Neumann said European governments had shifted from asking how to protect Afghans from the Taliban to asking how to work with the group to facilitate the return of Afghans.
“The Taliban haven’t changed. But we have. And we are failing Afghans,” Neumann said.
She recalled the chaotic evacuation from Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021, when Afghans attempted to flee the country as the Taliban entered the capital. Neumann said images of people clinging to departing military aircraft and parents lifting children over airport barriers remained symbols of what she called a failure by the international community.
Neumann said German leaders had described protecting Afghans as a “moral responsibility” at the time and promised not to abandon them. She argued that the Taliban’s subsequent policies have provided no justification for weakening those commitments.
“Women and girls have been systematically erased from public life,” Neumann said, pointing to restrictions on schools, universities, jobs and access to public spaces, as well as the return of public punishments.
She criticized what she described as Europe’s gradual normalization of relations with the Taliban through “technical talks,” migration policies and consular cooperation.
According to Neumann, Germany has engaged with Taliban authorities to facilitate deportations and allowed Taliban representatives to gain control of Afghan consular services in Bonn and Berlin.
She said the arrangements have created new difficulties for Afghans living in Germany, who may need to rely on representatives of the Taliban authorities to obtain passports, birth certificates and other documents needed for employment, marriage or residency.
“For Afghans in Germany, this is not ‘technical,’” Neumann said, arguing that people who fled Taliban rule should not have to depend on representatives of the same authorities for essential documents.
Neumann also raised concerns about potential transnational repression, saying some Afghans in Europe fear intimidation and pressure on relatives still living in Afghanistan if Taliban authorities gain access to personal information.
She warned that Europe’s approach to migration could give the Taliban leverage over European governments while weakening commitments to protect Afghans at risk.
“On 15 August 2021, we lost Afghanistan. Five years later, we are losing ourselves,” Neumann said.
