Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, the human rights situation in Afghanistan has steadily deteriorated. Women and girls are being discriminated against ever more drastically and systematically, human rights defenders are being harassed and minorities are being persecuted to an increasing extent. The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan also continues to be precarious. Millions of people in the country continue to suffer from hunger.

The situation of women and girls under the Taliban’s rule is deeply disturbing. Women are completely excluded from political participation. Girls are only allowed to go to school up to and including sixth grade and they do not enjoy access to universities. Women are barred from working in non-governmental organisations and international organisations. Those who violate these rules are arrested and threatened with brutal corporal punishment and sexual violence. Owing to the discontinuation of many protection and support services, women and girls are also defenceless against gender-based violence. In concrete terms, this means that they are being systematically pushed out of public life and persecuted.

Even after three years of wide-scale repression by the Taliban, many Afghans continue to fight for their fundamental rights and freedoms. Many of them have faced persecution on account of their commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law or owing to their work as journalists and have since been forced to leave Afghanistan. Those who remain in the country risk their lives and freedom on a regular basis. I hold the commitment shown by all these people in high regard.

We must not abandon vulnerable groups in Afghanistan to their fate. To date, around 34,000 vulnerable Afghans, including their eligible family members, have been able to enter Germany through the various admission procedures of the German Government. In this context, the federal admission programme is an important instrument for assisting vulnerable Afghans and providing them with protection in Germany. In view of the extremely difficult situation in Afghanistan, it is essential that this programme be continued.

In addition to human rights violations on a massive scale, the humanitarian situation remains precarious. More than half of the population is still dependent on humanitarian aid while around 30 percent of Afghans suffer from hunger and can no longer subsist without humanitarian assistance. Since the Taliban took power, the Federal Foreign Office has continued to support the Afghan population with humanitarian assistance totalling more than one billion euro, primarily in the areas of food security, basic healthcare, protection and humanitarian mine clearance, where women can continue to work and women and children can be reached.

Upholding human rights in Afghanistan is an integral part of existing international obligations. These rights are also binding for the de facto Taliban Government. We must continue to stand by the Afghans’ side, alleviate humanitarian suffering and fight for their rights in the face of the Taliban’s terrorism against their own people.