More than 250 organizations have appealed to Berlin in an open letter to bring the Afghan women and men who are still stranded in Pakistan and have been promised admission to Germany “by the end of the year.” In the letter, published on Tuesday (December 9), Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul are called upon to do “everything in your power” to make this happen. 

“Bring the people to safety at last, those to whom we have promised protection,” the open letter to the German federal government stated. “Time is running out. Quite literally, every day counts.” 

The letter is signed, among others, by the refugee organization Pro Asyl, the AWO Federal Association, the Paritätischer Gesamtverband (German Parity Welfare Association), and Bread for the World.

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Most Afghans awaiting Germany admission are women and children

If Germany does not accept the migrants before Pakistan’s year-end deadline, those affected face the threat of deportation to Afghanistan. There were still around 1,300 to 1,800 Afghans from various German admission programs in Pakistan. Around 165 affected Afghans are also waiting in their home country, as they were deported there from Pakistan in late summer, according to the Foreign Office.

Most of the Afghans awaiting admission are women and children, including former local staff of the Bundeswehr and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), as well as employees of aid organizations and high-risk members such as human rights activists.

“They have worked for years in support of democracy, the rule of law, and women’s and children’s rights, for universal values, and also in Germany’s interest,” the organizations wrote in the letter to the government. “Germany bears responsibility for these people.”

New conservative government hesitant on Afghan admissions

After the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, Germany launched several admission programs to allow Afghan women and men at particular risk to be granted permanent admission to Germany on humanitarian grounds. However, after the change of government in Berlin, the new conservative CDU-led federal government greatly restricted admissions.

In their coalition agreement, the CDU/CSU and SPD parties agreed to end the Afghan admission programs “as far as possible.” The CDU party has criticized the admissions program, pointing among other things to security concerns. Since many affected people fled from Afghanistan to Pakistan, they are now stranded there.

In recent months, people who had sued for visas in German courts have repeatedly been able to enter Germany. The courts confirmed that commitments made under the federal admission program were legally binding. However, commitments made to people in the bridging program and on the human rights list were considered political. Therefore, the current federal government does not consider itself legally bound by them.

With KNA, EPD and AFP