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European
Commission - Press release
High-Level Forum on providing protection
to Afghans at risk
Brussels, 6 October 2021
«Tomorrow,
High-Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and
Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson are
convening a High-Level Forum focusing on providing protection to Afghans.
The forum is a follow-up to discussions in G7 and in the extraordinary
Justice and Home Affairs Council on Afghanistan. The aim is to ensure that
action of the EU and of the Member States to protect Afghans is supportive
of global coordination and cooperation efforts.
The
forum will bring together, in a virtual setting, Ministers for Foreign
Affairs and Interior Ministers of EU Member States as well as from
Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, representatives of the
European Parliament, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
Filippo Grandi, and the Director-General of the International Organization
for Migration, António Vitorino. In the afternoon, discussions will
continue at senior officials' level with representatives of Canada, the UK
and the US.
High
Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell said:
gThe
takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban will have far-reaching repercussions
for the Afghan people and the country's neighbours. This requires urgent
responses and our full engagement. We have rapidly increased EU humanitarian
aid and supported the departure of Afghans at risk in the country. Our work
is not over. We stand by the Afghan people. The forum gives us another
opportunity to come up with concrete actions to protect Afghans at risk,
including through safe and legal pathways.h
Commissioner
for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson said:
gI am
looking forward to tomorrow's High-Level Forum on providing protection for
Afghans at risk. It is our moral duty to help those who tried to build a
more open society. Journalists, NGO staff and human rights advocates, women
in particular, need our help. The Commission is ready to work on a specific
Support Package for Afghans at Risk that would cover support for all steps
of the pathways to protection in the EU including safe passages, legal
pathways for admission and integration.h
Safe and
legal pathways to protection in the EU
At
tomorrow's Forum, participants will discuss the current situation in
Afghanistan and in neighbouring countries as well as options for mobilising
further support for Afghans at risk.
Participants
will also discuss planning for further safe and legal pathways for Afghan
nationals considered most at risk in both the short and medium term, as
well as reception and integration measures for Afghan evacuees.
Such
measures will be part of a Support
Scheme for Afghans at Risk that
will be a component of the overall Afghan Support Package announced by
President von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech. EU support
measures for Afghans will be embedded in an overall effort to provide
humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan and to support countries in the
region, notably those neighbouring countries that host large numbers of
migrants and refugees.
Measures
that the Forum will consider will include:
· Continuing the evacuation
or safe passage of Afghans affiliated to Member States and
the EU as well as people who are in a vulnerable situation such as human
rights defenders, women, journalists, civil society activists, police and
law enforcement officials, judges and professionals of the justice system,
and their families;
· Stepping up resettlement
efforts for vulnerable Afghans displaced in the region.
Member States are encouraged to commit further voluntary pledges to
correspond to needs and prepare for future emergency needs that may arise;
· Stepping up humanitarian
admission for people in need of international protection. This should
include community sponsorship, in view of the movements of support in a
number of Member States by various communities, including that of private
associations and universities, and the positive role they can play in the
integration of Afghan refugees;
· Implementing
other complementary
pathways, such as family reunification, student authorisations and
work permits.
Support
for Afghans at risk must continue after their arrival in the EU. Adequate
reception conditions during the asylum procedure and support to ensure
swift and successful integration into the host societies are crucial.
Member States can count on EU support for the integration of newcomers.
Background
Since the start of the crisis in Afghanistan, around 22,000
Afghan nationals were evacuated to 24 EU Member States (as of August 2021).
However, almost 664,000 Afghans are newly internally displaced
in the country since the beginning of the year, in addition to 3 million
people already internally displaced at the end of 2020. There is a pressing
need for Member States to continue to provide protection to the most
vulnerable people both within Afghanistan and for Afghan nationals
displaced in countries of the region.
At the G7 meeting of 24 August, Leaders agreed to cooperate on
a coordinated approach to safe and legal routes for resettlement. The
Commission has been engaging with international partners to this end, following
up on the commitments taken at the High-Level Resettlement Forum convened by the Commission in July as well at tomorrow's
High-Level Forum on providing protection to Afghans at risk.
In her State of the Union speech, President Ursula von
der Leyen announced €100 million as part of a new, wider Afghan Support
Package, bringing the total amount of EU humanitarian support to €300
million. This comprehensive package will focus on different initiatives,
notably stepping up humanitarian assistance for the most vulnerable people;
developing support to neighbouring countries to help create conditions to
allow the displaced Afghan population to remain closer to their homes;
creating safe and legal pathways to protection in the EU; and targeted
reception and integration measures for Afghan evacuees.»
For
More Information
Providing
protection through joint leadership: stepping up resettlement and
complementary legal Pathways
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