European Union accused of neglecting Afghan refugees

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has accused the European Union of marked neglect towards Afghan refugees at some EU borders.

The leading Charity organization says: many Afghan refugees in need of protection remain stuck at the borders of the European Union on Greek islands in “prison-like camps”, according to the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday, May 31.

The IRC report shows that EU countries have resettled 271 Afghan refugees in 2022, which is 0.1 percent of the total of 270,000 Afghan refugees who need permanent support.

This committee also accused the European Union of continuously breaking its commitments in connection with the legal resettlement of Afghan refugees. It calls on EU member states to “scale up protection pathways”.

According to the report, 90% of the Afghans supported by the IRC’s mental health teams in Lesbos and Athens experienced symptoms of anxiety, and 86% of depression, in the year to March 2023.

David Miliband, the head of the International Rescue Committee, said that the acceptance of 8 million Ukrainians in the European Union shows the capacity to accept refugees from the countries of the Union, and there is no excuse for not accepting Afghan citizens.

Although 41,500 Afghan citizens have been accepted in the European Union countries between 2021 and 2022, the International Rescue Committee does not consider it sufficient.