Germany urged to ensure protection for at-risk Afghans

Two years after its launch, the German government’s scheme aimed at taking in people who could be potentially persecuted by Afghanistan’s Taliban government faces an uncertain future due to a potential funding freeze, NGOs have warned.

In a joint statement, eight organizations including Kabul Luftbrücke (Kabul Airlift), Mission Lifeline and the International Rescue Committee Germany, said that the ongoing negotiations for the 2025 federal budget were the last opportunity to secure funding for the programme’s continuation.

Since the Islamist Taliban took power in August 2021, the scheme has enabled vulnerable people to seek refuge in Germany. While Berlin agrees that the approximately 3,100 approved applicants should be allowed entry, future admissions depend on financial support.

Some politicians within Germany’s ruling coalition have shown signs of reluctance, given that Afghanistan is a major source of asylum seekers entering Germany irregularly.

Instead of the planned 1,000 admissions per month, only 682 individuals had entered Germany over the past two years, the organizations’ statement continued, adding that the final processing of selected applications had been suspended since July 2024.

“Premature and disorderly termination of this essential admission programme will mean that particularly vulnerable people are left behind in Afghanistan,” the organizations warned.