Hannah Neumann, a member of the European Parliament, says that five years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, the international community’s approach toward Afghans has changed, while the Taliban themselves have not.
Ahead of the fifth anniversary of the fall of Kabul, Neumann wrote on X that five years ago, the international community’s primary question was how to protect Afghans from the Taliban. Today, however, many governments are seeking ways to cooperate with the Taliban in order to facilitate the return of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan.
She said: “The Taliban have not changed, but we have and we have failed the Afghan people.”
Neumann, a prominent advocate for human rights and women’s rights in Afghanistan, has criticized the policies of some European countries that focus on engaging with the Taliban and facilitating the return of Afghan refugees.
She stressed that engagement with the Taliban must not come at the expense of human rights or the fundamental rights of the Afghan people.
Neumann has previously opposed official meetings between European representatives and Taliban officials, arguing that such meetings could contribute to the normalization of Taliban rule.
Her remarks come as debates continue, five years after the Taliban’s return to power, over the deportation and return of Afghan refugees, international engagement with the Taliban, and the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
