In light of the human rights situation in Afghanistan, the organization Pro Asyl is urging an immediate nationwide ban on deportations to Afghanistan, the country ruled by the radical Islamist Taliban. The human rights organization leveled sharp criticism in a position paper published Wednesday in Berlin regarding the handling of asylum applications, particularly those of male, single Afghans.
The paper points to a dramatically decreased protection rate from early 2025 to early 2026, even though the situation in the country has not improved. "The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) fails to recognize the arbitrariness of the Taliban, attributes to them a rational and calculable pattern of persecution, and barely examines the risk of torture or degrading treatment," Pro Asyl criticized.
This is "scandalous." Furthermore, Bamf no longer usually issues a deportation ban "despite the desolate humanitarian situation in the country." At the same time, however, "the Taliban continue to further expand their rule of lawlessness, arbitrariness, and brutality."
According to an analysis by Pro Asyl, the adjusted protection rate for asylum-seeking single Afghan men in January 2026 was only 16.2 percent. A year earlier, it was still 66.6 percent. In contrast, the overall protection rate for Afghan asylum seekers in the first four months of 2026 was 89.4 percent. According to the organization, this is due to a ruling by the European Court of Justice, according to which women from Afghanistan and their relatives must fundamentally receive protection.
Pro Asyl also criticized the suspension of humanitarian admission programs by the federal government and the prevention of family reunification for protection beneficiaries already living in Germany. "The federal government must reassess the situation. Protection decisions must no longer gloss over and relativize the current human rights and dramatic humanitarian development in Afghanistan," demanded Pro Asyl Executive Director Helen Rezene.
Furthermore, Pro Asyl opposes the government's forced deportation flights of criminals or people classified as threats to Afghanistan, particularly because of the diplomatic upgrade of the Taliban that comes with it.
"For a deportation deal, Germany is normalizing an internationally ostracized regime that completely disenfranchises women and systematically persecutes opponents. This is devastating in terms of human rights and foolish in terms of foreign policy," Rezene accused the government.
Against this background, Pro Asyl is calling for a change in the federal government's Afghanistan policy. In addition to the deportation ban, the organization also demands compliance with given admission promises and the continuation of admission programs. The right to family reunification must be realized promptly.
The Taliban must "be taken seriously as persecutors and any cooperation with them must be stopped." People from Afghanistan with a toleration status in Germany must "receive effective residency rights that also include a work permit."
The Taliban government in Afghanistan is not internationally recognized. Nevertheless, the federal government now holds official talks with Taliban representatives and has also enabled them to perform consular functions in Afghan diplomatic missions in Germany.
Numerous Afghan women and men to whom Germany had promised admission are currently stuck in Pakistan after the black-red federal government stopped the admission programs. This affects, among others, human rights activists threatened by the Taliban.
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