The federal government has been criticized for more than a year for the slow acceptance of vulnerable people from Afghanistan. Only last week, when asked by the left, she had to admit that more than 30 former local workers are no longer alive and some have died violently. Since the chaotic departure from Afghanistan, two-thirds of the 38,000 people have come to Germany with an acceptance letter. “Too little and too late,” criticize human rights organizations, saying that Germany is not living up to its responsibilities. Since the militant Islamic Taliban seized power in August 2021, former employees of foreign armed forces and aid organizations, so-called local workers, have had to face persecution.
On Monday, the Federal Foreign Office and the Interior Ministry announced a new federal admissions program for Afghans at risk. “During implementation, in close cooperation with civil society organizations, we are breaking new ground and forms of cooperation that have never existed before,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. Certain civil society organizations selected by the federal government should be able to nominate people at risk in the future. The federal government is planning a coordination center to provide support. The SPD, Greens and FDP had already agreed on the project in the coalition agreement, and implementation should now be “quick” and expected to last until September 2025.
The number of recordings remains at the old level
The federal government has defined two target groups for the program. Firstly, Afghans who have exposed themselves through their commitment to women’s and human rights or in the areas of justice, politics, the media or science and sport and are therefore individually at risk. Second, people who are at risk because of their sexual orientation, gender or religion. The federal government announced that only people who were resident in Afghanistan would be considered. It is planned to take in around 1,000 particularly endangered Afghans per month – as many as before.
Non-governmental organizations criticized on Monday that the new procedure was not transparent, created privileged access and helped too few people to enter the country. Since the Taliban came back to power, the human rights situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated massively. In addition to local workers, women, girls, human rights activists and members of ethnic minorities are particularly at risk. The Greens politician Julian Pahlke said: “Even if every single person who is admitted counts, I would have liked a larger scope.”
The vice-chairman of the Union faction, Andrea Lindholz (CSU), also criticized the program. Germany is already fulfilling its promises to previous helpers, but the current program is also aimed at people “who, like millions of other people around the world, are also threatened.” Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Hermann (CSU), who is currently leading the Conference of Interior Ministers, said: “Under the guise of humanity, the federal government is pursuing a migration policy at the expense of the federal states, districts, cities and municipalities.”