Admission program for Afghanistan: Amtsberg criticizes slow aid

Human rights commissioner Amtsberg has criticized the sluggish Afghanistan policy of the traffic light coalition. She calls for the speedy implementation of the agreed federal humanitarian admission program.

On the occasion of International World Refugee Day, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy, Luise Amtsberg, criticized the insufficient support of the traffic light coalition for the people in Afghanistan. She is very happy that local workers and people at risk are still being evacuated from Afghanistan, said the Greens politician. So far, however, it has not been possible to set up a humanitarian federal admissions program for Afghanistan.

The traffic light government had agreed on the admission program in the coalition agreement. Amtsberg is now calling for the speedy implementation of this. She expects this to be in place no later than the anniversary of the fall of Kabul in mid-August – August 15 marks the anniversary of the Taliban’s conquest of the Afghan capital.

Focus on women, children and marginalized groups

The admission program for Afghanistan announced by the Ampel government is aimed at people who are particularly at risk after the Taliban take power. “In terms of a feminist foreign policy, we want to focus on women, children and marginalized groups,” said Amtsberg. The Federal Government has made it its mission to protect refugees and their human rights, emphasized the Human Rights Commissioner. “This must be reflected in our refugee policy.”

After the Afghan government troops were unable to stop the advance of the radical Islamic Taliban in 2021, NATO forces left Afghanistan in a hurry – including the German armed forces. Thousands of people were taken out of the country by airlift from Kabul. However, thousands more were left behind. Numerous local Bundeswehr personnel and their families are still waiting for help. Human rights organizations accuse the federal government of delaying the promised aid for the local workers threatened by the Taliban.

“Alarming Record”

In her statement, Amtsberg also thanked the people in Germany for “the great willingness to help and the diverse commitment throughout the country in taking in the many Ukrainians”. Fleeing from the “relentlessly waged war of aggression” by Russian President Vladimir Putin, they found “a safe home in Germany.” Nevertheless, the situation of many refugees in the world is critical. The number of more than 100 million refugees worldwide, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, is “an alarming record”.

Amtsberg demanded that one’s eyes should not be closed to the “deficits in human rights in Europe”. “These include Great Britain’s unacceptable migration agreement with Rwanda, the ongoing illegal push-backs at the EU’s external borders and the constant criminalization of private sea rescue.”