Human Rights Watch warns France over talks with Taliban on deporting Afghans
Farshteh Abbasi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, says France’s cooperation with the Taliban administration on returning Afghan asylum seekers could expose them to abuse, detention, torture and serious human rights violations.
Abbasi said on Tuesday that France had confirmed the start of technical talks with the Taliban administration on the return of Afghan migrants. She described the move as a dangerous shift in France’s immigration policy and said the forced deportation of people to Afghanistan is not compatible with the country’s international human rights obligations.
The French foreign ministry had previously said it had entered talks with the Taliban administration to return Afghan citizens without legal residency and people it considers a security threat.
The Human Rights Watch researcher stressed that there is evidence of the detention and torture of Afghans who were previously forcibly returned to Afghanistan. She urged Paris to stop the forced deportation plan for Afghans, saying the Taliban administration continues to suppress citizens and commit widespread human rights violations.
France is holding talks with the Taliban administration on the return of migrants even though it cut diplomatic ties with Kabul after the group returned to power in 2021.
Germany resumed deportations of Afghan citizens with criminal records in 2024 and in 2025 also returned 81 people to Afghanistan. Austria has also begun deporting Afghan migrants, and in July this year, representatives of 15 European Union member states in Brussels discussed the return of migrants with a Taliban delegation.
The growing efforts by European countries to deport migrants come as migration becomes one of the main themes in political competition across the continent. In France, with the 2027 presidential election approaching, far-right parties have called for tighter immigration restrictions and more deportations.
Human rights groups warn that forcibly returning Afghans to a country under Taliban rule could put their safety and lives at serious risk.
