Afghanistan: This is how the waiting person is doing with German recording commitment

Germany has 81 people after last week Afghanistan Dissolved, a deportation freight started in Iraq. But what about the people from Afghanistan who are waiting for their flight to Germany with an admission to Pakistan? Most of them are Afghan local forces and their relatives – i.e. Afghans who worked for the Bundeswehr or German institutions, for example, and which now put it in danger in their homeland under the rule of Taliban.

On the star request, what the Federal Foreign Office is doing because of these approximately 2400 people, it says from there: “With a view to the coalition agreement, which provides for a termination of voluntary entrance programs as far as possible Federal government in an continued examination, as is implemented for admission procedures from Afghanistan. ”

Eva Breyer from the “Kabul air bridge” is committed to the interests of the waiting persons. We asked you from your point of view.

Ms. Breyer, a deportation freight to Kabul or Iraq, is organized by the federal government under Friedrich Merz. But how is people from Afghanistan, who despite Reception commitment Pay out from Germany in Pakistan?
The families – mostly women and children – have been stuck in Pakistan for a long time. For months, some for two years, they have been waiting in GIZ guest houses (“German Society for International Cooperation”, the development aid company of the Federal Government, editor’s note)-without knowing how to proceed. This uncertainty is like psychological torture for people, because for many of them there is no way back. At the same time, the deportation of Pakistani authorities threatens every day, because many are now in Pakistan without a valid residence permit. Your visas have expired, extensions are not currently being issued. More than 50 people have been arrested in the past few weeks and are now housed near the Afghan border – it is uncertain.

There were already suicides among those who have a promise for the United States. Not yet with target Germany. But despair is great. Many affected people would not survive a deportation to Afghanistan.

An Afghan family has with the help of the “Kabul Air bridge “successfully sued a visa.
Today came the news that the government lodged a complaint and that we go to the Higher Administrative Court. Now the Federal Foreign Office has two weeks again to justify this. The Federal Foreign Office has exploited the deadline as far as possible and buys time – at the expense of the plaintiff and her families, who threatens deportation in Pakistan.

How many similar procedures are still open?
We have already submitted over fifty lawsuits in total, more are in preparation.

How do you assess the chances of success of the still open procedures?
The administrative court has comprehensively confirmed our argument: The admission commitments are legally binding, the federal government must adhere to it – and it must not simply suspend the entire program because it is politically displeased. The decision is not just an individual decision, because the court basically says and with a view to all people with a German reception commitment: the federal government is legally obliged to implement the commitments, and quickly. What also gives us hope: At the end of last week, another chamber also decided a second procedure in favor of the plaintiff.

By April 2024, the Federal Government claims to have 33,200 particularly endangered Afghans and Afghans Germany fetched. What has happened since then?
The CDU-led government under Chancellor Angela Merkel had already granted 40,000 recording commitments in the summer of 2021. The implementation then fell to the traffic light coalition. The traffic light government was also not particularly motivated to implement the admission commitments.

The federal recording program was only set up in October 2022 in addition to the existing admission commitments with the consent of the then opposition party CDU. According to its own objective, the federal recording program should grant up to 1000 people per month a safe recording to Germany. After 30 months of term, however, only a total of 3000 admission commitments were awarded – and almost half of these people are still stuck in Pakistan.

What is the Kabul air bridge doing at the moment?
Until the beginning of 2025 we have organized transport from Kabul to Islamabad for people looking for protection with German recording commitment. We mainly supported traveling women and children who otherwise could not have left the country. In the meantime, we primarily offer legal support: access to lawyers or help in lawsuits.

The Federal Foreign Office also says that the voluntary recording program can also be checked for Afghanistan. Is that surprising?
No, in fact it has ended since July 2024. Since then there have been no new recording commitments.