The purpose of this report is to provide information relevant for international protection status determination, including refugee status and subsidiary protection, and in particular for use in updating EUAA’s country guidance development on Afghanistan.
The report covers the period of 1 October 2023–30 September 2024. The report is an update of the EUAA COI Report: Country Focus – Afghanistan published in December 2023. Events taking place after the end of the reference period have not been included.
The report’s first chapter provides information on the general population’s situation under Taliban rule. It contains information on the political context, the functioning of the de facto state administration, and the implementation of sharia. This is followed by a chapter outlining the general conflict-related security situation, and a chapter on the humanitarian situation. Thereafter, chapter 4 outlines the situation of 11 select groups and profiles.
Over three years have passed since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan. Islamic law (sharia) serves as the legal framework in the country, and the still unrecognized de facto authorities have issued a series of instructions limiting the personal rights and freedoms of the Afghan population. On 21 August 2024, the Taliban announced a new 'Morality law', imposing restrictions including on general dress codes, women's voices, a prohibition of featuring animate objects in the media (e.g., pictures of humans and animals), and congregational prayer.
The EUAA's latest report provides detailed information on the so-called “Morality Law" and on how sharia is being enforced across Afghanistan, noting the vague nature of the instructions, sometimes impossible to implement, and outlines the inconsistent enforcement across provinces and communities. Although enforcement is less stringent than during the Taliban's rule from 1996 to 2001, women and girls continue to experience limitations in access to education, employment, health and justice, as well as in freedom of movement and freedom of expression. The Taliban believe in a one-party system of governance and have cracked down harshly on armed and political opposition. The civic space has shrunk significantly and Afghanistan now ranks as the third worst country in the world in terms of press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Conflict-related violence has continued to decrease, as no resistance group poses a realistic threat to the Taliban's hold on power. However, this comes as many households are facing food insecurity and malnutrition. The humanitarian situation remains precarious, therefore. In addition, and as gender-segregation is central to the Taliban's enforcement of sharia, many decisions impact women and girls' access to public spaces. In fact, women-headed households struggle especially, as they cannot travel certain distances or access some services without a male relative accompanying them.
This report was written by the Country of Origin Information (COI) sector of the EUAA.
The following national COI departments reviewed the report:
- Austria, Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, Country of Origin Information Department;
- France, Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), Information, Documentation and Research Division (DIDR);
- Norway, Landinfo, the Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre;
- Sweden, Swedish Migration Agency, Unit for Migration Analysis.
This report was written according to the EUAA COI Report Methodology (2023) and the EUAA COI Writing and Referencing Style Guide (2023).
Policy
The overall security situation in Afghanistan in recent decades has been largely determined by a long-running internal armed conflict, as a result of which many Afghans are internally displaced or have sought refuge abroad. The Taliban took power in August 2021, after many years of conflict between the former government, its security forces and foreign troops on the one hand, and rebel groups such as the Taliban and the ISKP on the other.
The end of the fighting between the former government and the Taliban resulted in a sharp decline in conflict-related violence and a significant drop in civilian casualties. In assessing the need for international protection, the Commissioner General takes into account that the Taliban's control of the entire Afghan territory has a significant impact on the human rights situation in the country and on the risk faced by many Afghans in case of return.
Following the seizure of power by the Taliban, the Commissioner General announced a temporary, partial suspension of refugee status determination decisions. In the period between 15 August 2021 and 1 March 2022, no rejection decisions were taken for Afghan applicants. However, it was apparent that many persons clearly were in need of protection; positive decisions granting refugee status were taken for those cases during that period. This also applied to many persons evacuated from Kabul.
In early March 2022, the suspension was ended. Since then, the CGRS has been taking decisions again for all cases.
The CGRS has to assess whether a need for protection exists for each applicant for international protection. Every application is assessed individually. This is done on the basis of the refugee and subsidiary protection definitions contained in law and international treaties. The CGRS does not make "political" assessments of a regime and grant protection status on that basis.