On Thursday afternoon, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs is organizing a public hearing on the situation of Afghans seeking international protection in the EU.
When: Thursday 17 March 2021, 13:45–15:45
Where: Antall building, room 2Q2, and by remote connection
MEPs and guest speakers will hear presentations and discuss in two thematic panels :
Panel 1 – Situation of Afghan for applicants for international protection present on the EU territory and of those still in Afghanistan or in the neighbouring countries
- Johannes Luchner – Deputy Director-General, DG for Migration and Home Affairs – European Commission
- Reshad Jalali – Policy Officer at the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)
- Samira Hamidi – South Asia Campaigner from Amnesty International
Panel 2 – Situation of the vulnerable groups of applicants, and international community response
- Jared Rowell – Danish Refugee Council, Country Director in Afghanistan
- Artemis Akbary – Afghan LGBTQ Rights & Social Activist, refugee in the Czech Republic
You can watch the hearing in the Parliament’s Multimedia Centre.
Background
According to the latest asylum trends – published by the EU Asylum Agency for 2021 – Afghans were one of the top countries of origin in 2021 and made some 97 800 applications in 2021. Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, EU+ countries received more than 10 000 Afghan applications every month since August 2021. The EU recognition rate of asylum applications for Afghans was 66 % in 2021 but increased to around 90 % towards the end of 2021.