Amnesty International has called on the international community to immediately halt the unlawful expulsion of Afghan refugees, demanding that host nations safeguard individuals with international protection needs in line with international human rights law. The appeal comes as deportation figures continue to climb globally, raising alarm among leading rights bodies.

The Scale of Deportations

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), nearly 270,000 Afghans have been deported to Afghanistan since the beginning of 2025, predominantly from Iran and Pakistan, with smaller numbers from Turkey and Tajikistan. This is in addition to over 1.2 million Afghan refugees deported from Iran and 150,000 from Pakistan in the previous year alone.

In a post on X, Amnesty said: “Millions of Afghan refugees are being expelled across the globe, and that number keeps climbing day by day. In host countries, they are facing arbitrary arrests and family separations; upon return, they are facing human rights violations amidst one of the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world.”

What Rights Bodies Are Saying

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, had earlier in May 2025 warned against the continued forced repatriation of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers to Afghanistan, describing it as a violation of international human rights and refugee law. “Afghan women, children and men continue to be pushed out of countries where they had sought safety, forcing them to return to Afghanistan against their will and exposing them to grave risk,” he said.

Turk invoked the international legal principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits states from returning individuals to places where they face serious harm. “I urge States to abide by their international legal obligations and protect Afghans by not taking any action that exposes them to irreparable harm upon return,” he stated.

Documented Abuses Upon Return

A 2025 joint report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), titled ‘No Safe Haven’, documented that Afghan refugees forcibly returned to Afghanistan faced arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and ill-treatment at the hands of Taliban authorities. The report identified particularly acute risks for women and girls, individuals affiliated with the former Afghan government and its security forces, media workers, civil society members, and those from the LGBTIQ+ community.

Europe Under Scrutiny

The UN human rights chief also flagged concerns over mounting reports that certain European nations are resuming or considering deportations of Afghan nationals, despite the severe human rights situation on the ground. Several European Union (EU) member states are simultaneously seeking a more coordinated approach to returns. Turk cautioned that proposed new EU rules on returns, currently under review, could weaken existing human rights safeguards. “I strongly caution against all involuntary returns to Afghanistan in the absence of individualised risk assessments, which are required by and must be carried out in accordance with international human rights and refugee law,” he said.

The UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) have both repeatedly stressed that any return of Afghan refugees must be safe, voluntary, and dignified, and have called for greater international support for returnees. With deportation numbers rising and legal safeguards under pressure, the situation is expected to remain a focal point at upcoming UN human rights sessions.