Suing for Safety: Afghan Refugees Fight for a Promise Held Back
"Establishing an Ill-Advised Precedent - Completely in the Wrong"
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Almost 2400 Afghan men and women remain stranded in Pakistan, despite Germany's pledge to welcome them under the federal intake program. This program, established by the previous government, aimed to secure the safe passage of endangered individuals to Germany before the Taliban took control. However, the new administration has ceased all intake initiatives, leaving these individuals vulnerable to deportation back to Afghanistan.
Tilmann Röder, a legal eagle and the head of the NGO Just Peace, played a pivotal role in the federal intake program. Aligned with a group now taking legal action on behalf of some of the stranded Afghans, he discusses the specifics and the reasons behind his belief that the German government's decisions are rooted in politics.
ntv.de: A wave of lawsuits is flooding into the Berlin Administrative Court. In 25 cases, the entry of Afghan men and women from Pakistan is being sought. What are these lawsuits about?
Tilmann Röder: These lawsuits primarily aim to secure visas for individuals in desperate need of protection, whose departure to Germany is unnecessarily delayed. Each of them has completed the federal intake program. The first litigant, whose case lawyer Matthias Lehnert filed four weeks ago, is a scholar and writer from Afghanistan. She possessed vital positions in the government prior to the Taliban takeover, actively advocated for democracy, and had already spent time in Germany for academic research purposes. As a politically active woman, she is under threat from the Taliban. We argue that the federal government must issue a visa and strongly believe that the courts will now say: Germany must keep its promises.
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The federal intake program, enacted following the Taliban's takeover in 2021, was intended to facilitate legal migration for those in dire need - without the risk of dangerous flights and centralized control. How did you contribute to the procedure?
I spearheaded case management for the so-called coordination office of civil society within the federal intake program. The process enabled various organizations and institutions with ties to Afghanistan to suggest and vet potential intake candidates. Our office was responsible for an initial assessment of endangered Afghan men and women, who were then passed to German authorities for further evaluation.
Who were the people involved?
The target group of the federal intake program consisted of individuals from civil society who had been involved in various ways to strengthen democracy, the rule of law, freedom rights, and human rights, as well as particularly vulnerable groups. This encompasses, in particular, women and LGBTQIA individuals. Out of the approximately 2400 Afghan men and women stranded in Pakistan, roughly half come from the federal intake program. The remaining individuals are part of the local forces procedure, the so-called human rights list, or the transition program. The main distinction is that people from the federal intake program enjoy substantially stronger legal protection against the cancellation of their residence permit. This can only be theoretically challenged.
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Nevertheless, the federal government insists on re-evaluating each individual case for security reasons.
Although re-examination is possible, it is unlikely. Especially in the case of the federal intake program, where candidates underwent at least seven evaluations. First, the NGOs and institutions proposing these cases selected and prepared them. Then came the coordinating office, followed by federal government departments, the German Society for International Cooperation, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, and finally the federal police and security authorities. All these reviews have already been completed. For the federal government to say that it wants to reopen this seems more like a pretext to revoke the admission offers from these people.
Does a political motive lie behind this?
Without a doubt: they're attempting to make a political statement here. However, this is the wrong group for this purpose. These people embody our core values: ideals of the rule of law, democracy, freedom, and human rights. They are the people Germany should stand strongly with. And secondly, we have made legally binding commitments. Reversing this decision would be highly problematic. Especially since these people have already left Afghanistan and have spent a good deal of money to do so. Some have even sold their homes. If the federal government reneges on its promise to these individuals, it will also damage our international reputation.
More Than Uncertainty Testimonials from the Stranded Afghan Men and Women
The pressure on these individuals is immense. As soon as their Pakistani residence permits cease to be renewed, deportation looms. Consequently, they barely dare leave their accommodations. Although they have a roof over their heads and food provided, they cannot work or enroll their children in school. And this situation has persisted for years in some instances. They are being kept in an inhumane state of affliction. It seems as if they are trying to break them. But this won't work. These people will not return to Afghanistan voluntarily. They face danger there, and the worst-case scenario could unfold for them.
Now, some individual cases are set to go to court. Are more lawsuits to follow?
The 25 cases relate to the main litigants, as well as their relatives. Predictably, this entails approximately 80 to 100 people. However, there will certainly be more. In fact, some lawyers have only just begun to prepare their cases.
Interview by Tilmann Röder, Marc Dimpfel
Source: ntv.de
- Afghanistan
- Migration
- Pakistan
- Federal Government
- Taliban
The community policy and employment policy of Germany are under scrutiny as Afghan refugees fight legal battles to secure visas, citing broken promises by the government. Tilmann Röder, the head of the NGO Just Peace, contends that the government's decisions are politically motivated, resulting in a wave of lawsuits flooding into the Berlin Administrative Court.
The lawsuits aim to secure visas for Afghan refugees whose departure to Germany is needlessly delayed, despite their completion of the federal intake program, which was established to facilitate legal migration for those in desperate need following the Taliban's takeover in 2021. The general-news and crime-and-justice sectors are closely monitoring these cases, as the decisions made could set a precedent for future migration policies.
