{"id":901,"date":"2017-10-05T17:49:36","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T17:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/?p=901"},"modified":"2017-10-06T01:48:11","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T01:48:11","slug":"britain-accused-of-unlawfully-deporting-afghan-asylum-seekers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/2017\/10\/05\/britain-accused-of-unlawfully-deporting-afghan-asylum-seekers\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain accused of unlawfully deporting Afghan asylum seekers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britain and other European countries have been accused of breaching international law, as it emerged that the number of asylum seekers forced to return to\u00a0Afghanistan<\/a>\u00a0has tripled at a time when civilian casualties in the country are at a record high.<\/p>\n

According to a report by\u00a0Amnesty International<\/a>, unaccompanied children and Christian converts at risk of persecution, torture and death \u2013 a status that should legally guarantee asylum \u2013 have been removed from European countries.<\/p>\n

Between 2015 and 2016, the number of people returned by European countries to Afghanistan nearly tripled, from 3,290 to 9,460. This corresponds to a marked fall in recognition of asylum applications, from 68% in September 2015 to 33% in December 2016, official EU statistics show.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0United Nations<\/a>\u00a0Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has reported that 2016 was the deadliest year on record for civilians in the country, with 11,418 people killed or injured. In the first six months of 2017 alone, UNAMA documented 5,243 civilian casualties in attacks by armed groups, including the Taliban and the so-called Islamic State.<\/p>\n

Amnesty\u2019s report, Forced Back to Danger: Asylum-Seekers Returned from\u00a0Europe<\/a>to Afghanistan, further accuses European governments, including the UK, of being \u201cdetermined\u201d to return young Afghans despite being well aware of the unfolding \u201chorrors\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n

It claims that in a leaked 2016 document, EU agencies acknowledged Afghanistan\u2019s \u201cworsening security situation and threats to which people are exposed\u201d, as well as the likelihood that \u201crecord levels of terrorist attacks and civilian casualties\u201d will increase. The report further claims that the agencies then stated in the document that \u201cmore than 80,000 persons could potentially need to be returned in the near future\u201d.<\/p>\n

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It quotes Eklil Hakimi, Afghanistan\u2019s finance minister, who told the Afghan parliament that the government needed to accept the returnees in order to guarantee aid. \u201cIf Afghanistan does not cooperate with EU countries on the refugee crisis, this will negatively impact the amount of aid allocated to Afghanistan,\u201d he is quoted as saying.<\/p>\n

The Amnesty report adds: \u201cSimilarly, a confidential Afghan government source called [the policy] a \u2018poisoned cup\u2019 that Afghanistan was forced to drink in order to receive development aid. The country is highly aid-dependent, with nearly 70% of Afghanistan\u2019s annual income dependent upon international donors.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2016, the five European countries that returned the most Afghans were:\u00a0Germany<\/a>\u00a0(3,440), Greece (1,480), Sweden (1,025), the UK (785) and Norway (760).<\/p>\n

Between 2007 and 2015, the report notes, 2,018 young people who had sought refuge in the UK as unaccompanied child asylum seekers were deported to Afghanistan. Despite Kabul being the most dangerous province for citizens, the UK Home Office\u2019s policy guidance states that \u201creturn or relocation to Kabul is, in general, considered reasonable\u201d.<\/p>\n