EU Humanitarian Forum On Afghanistan Opens In Brussels As Migrant Crisis Grows

The fourth European Union Humanitarian Forum commenced on Monday in Brussels, with a sharp focus on the escalating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and its broader regional implications.

A central topic of the forum is the forced return of Afghan migrants from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.

The European Union stated that the forum aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the regional repercussions of the crisis in Afghanistan, while underscoring the urgent need to address the fundamental needs of the Afghan people.

Mihyung Park, Chief of Mission for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Afghanistan, highlighted during the forum that the country is currently grappling with a second wave of mass returns from Iran and Pakistan.

Park reported that Iran is deporting between 2000 to 5000 Afghan migrants daily. In 2023, approximately 1.2 million Afghans returned from Iran, a figure that has since increased to 1.5 million. She noted that roughly 80 percent of those returns are forced deportations.

In regard to Pakistan, Park said deported Afghan migrants are often denied the opportunity to sell or transfer their possessions before expulsion. Many of their belongings are confiscated at the border.

She stressed that returnees whether from Iran or Pakistan arrive in Afghanistan with extremely limited financial resources, no housing, and frequently without official documentation, exacerbating their vulnerability upon return.