Open Letter on the Proposed Engagement of Taliban Representatives in Brussels

27 May 2026

To: European Union institutions, Member States, and relevant decision-makers

We, the undersigned national and international civil society organisations and human rights defenders, express our grave concerns regarding reports of a possible official visit of representatives of the Taliban to Brussels in June 2026.

It is important to recall that the Taliban do not represent the people of Afghanistan, as they lack domestic democratic legitimacy. Their authority has not been established through any participatory, inclusive, representative, or constitutional process.

Two senior Taliban leaders are currently subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds, and multiple individuals associated with the Taliban remain listed under international sanctions regimes, including those of the European Union.

In this context, any official engagement with Taliban representatives, particularly on European soil, carries significant legal, political, and symbolic implications. It risks being perceived as a form of normalization or implicit recognition.

Since August 2021, the Taliban have implemented a wide range of policies, decrees, and institutional measures that have resulted in the systematic dismantling of fundamental rights and freedoms. Women and girls have been almost entirely excluded from public life, including through bans on secondary and higher education, and severe restrictions on employment, freedom of movement, and participation in civic and political spaces.

These measures, when viewed collectively, have been assessed, in addition to the International Criminal Court, by various United Nations human rights experts and legal scholars as potentially amounting to gender persecution as a crime against humanity under international law.

In addition, there have been consistent reports of serious human rights violations, including: arbitrary detention; enforced disappearance; extrajudicial killings; torture and ill-treatment; and reprisals against human rights defenders, journalists, and former public officials. The lack of transparency and independent monitoring mechanisms makes the full scale of these violations difficult to verify, yet available evidence indicates a deeply concerning and ongoing pattern. What is certain is that there has been no accountability for the victims and survivors of the above-referenced serious human rights violations and potential international crimes.

Recent legal and judicial frameworks introduced under Taliban rule have further restricted access to justice, undermined due process guarantees, and institutionalised discriminatory practices, particularly against women and girls.

We are also deeply concerned about ongoing and proposed policies related to the forced return of Afghanistan asylum seekers from EU member states. Any forced returns of individuals to Afghanistan under the current conditions would raise serious concerns under international law, including the principle of non-refoulement. This concern is particularly acute for women and girls, whose lives, safety, and fundamental rights are at immediate and systemic risk under Taliban rule. Afghanistan is currently one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman, and forced return would expose many to persecution, violence, and severe deprivation of rights.

We, therefore, call on the European Union and its member states to:

Refrain from engaging with Taliban representatives at political or diplomatic levels under current conditions, as such engagement risks contributing to the normalization and implicit legitimization of a situation marked by ongoing serious human rights violations, including the systematic oppression of women and girls.
Recognise that the minimum conditions often cited by the EU for engagement — including respect for fundamental rights, particularly women’s rights — are not currently met, and that proceeding despite this would undermine the European Union’s human rights commitments.
Actively support international justice efforts addressing serious human rights violations and potential international crimes, in particular gender persecution, including through effective cooperation with the International Criminal Court in its Afghanistan investigation, to ensure that accountability is not sidelined in favour of political or migration-related considerations.
Publicly and unequivocally affirm that the rights of Afghanistan women and girls are non-negotiable, and cannot be compromised or used as bargaining chip in the context of diplomatic engagement or migration policy.
Actively support strategic litigation avenues, including through universal and extraterritorial jurisdiction mechanisms, to strengthen victims’ access to effective remedies for serious international crimes and to contribute to the judicial accountability of alleged perpetrators.
Immediately halt any forced returns of Afghanistan asylum seekers, in full compliance with the principle of non-refoulement, recognising that return under current conditions would expose individuals—particularly women and girls—to persecution and serious harm.
Ensure that no individual associated with the Taliban authorities, or any individual against whom credible allegations of serious human rights violations have been made, is received, hosted, or engaged in any form of cooperation or consultation.
Engage in structured and meaningful consultation with Afghanistan civil society, victims, and women human rights defenders, to ensure that their perspectives directly inform EU policy decisions.

Failure to uphold these principles risks further entrenching impunity, undermining the credibility of the European Union’s commitment to human rights and gender justice, and abandoning Afghanistan victims and survivors at a critical moment.

We stand ready to engage constructively with European and international partners to ensure that any response to the situation in Afghanistan is grounded in accountability, justice, and the protection of fundamental rights.