The Asymmetrical EU-Afghanistan Cooperation on Migration
The EU’s persistent push for refugees to return to Afghanistan and efforts to fund reintegration programs fail to account for the country’s ongoing instability.
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May 12, 2021
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Today, with 2.5 million registered refugees, Afghans make up the largest refugee group in Asia and the second largest in the world. Around 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees are currently living in Pakistan and 3 million (both registered and unregistered) in Iran. Afghanistan’s neighbors are thus the immediate hosts for the greatest number of Afghan refugees.
On April 26, the European Union signed a Joint Declaration on Migration Cooperation (JDMC) with Afghanistan, replacing the previous Joint Way Forward (JWF) agreement, which facilitates the deportation of Afghans whose asylum applications have been rejected in the EU member states. The new agreement amends the JWF and proposes new changes, such as a maximum number of 50 returnees per flight and up to 500 deportees per month. However, the situation for returnees remains increasingly unwelcoming on the ground.