UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk issued a strong warning against the continuing forced deportation of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries, describing the practice as a violation of international human rights and refugee law that exposes vulnerable populations to grave risk.
Since the beginning of 2026, almost 270,000 Afghans have been deported to Afghanistan, primarily from Iran and Pakistan, according to UNHCR data. Smaller numbers have also been reported from Türkiye and Tajikistan. These deportations add to the more than 1.2 million Afghans expelled from Iran and 150,000 from Pakistan during 2025.
"Afghan women, children and men continue to be pushed out of countries where they had sought safety, forcing them to return to Afghanistan against their will and exposing them to grave risk," Türk stated in a press release issued Friday from Geneva.
Violation of Non-Refoulement Principle
The mass deportations violate the principle of non-refoulement, a cornerstone of international refugee law that prohibits returning individuals to countries where they face serious threats to life or freedom. Given the Taliban's systematic restrictions on human rights—particularly for women and girls—and reports of reprisals against those perceived as having opposed the regime, Afghanistan presents exactly the kind of environment that triggers non-refoulement protections.
Yet host countries, facing their own economic pressures and domestic political considerations, have increasingly disregarded these obligations. Iran and Pakistan, which together host millions of Afghan refugees, have accelerated deportations despite international appeals.
The humanitarian implications are severe. Women and girls returned to Taliban-controlled face restrictions on education beyond sixth grade, near-total exclusion from employment, prohibitions on movement without male guardians, and recent marriage regulations that permit silence to be interpreted as consent. For those who worked with international organizations, foreign governments, or the previous Afghan administration, the risks include detention, persecution, and violence.
