What happens in Afghanistan doesn’t stay within its borders, but countries around the world have seemingly forgotten this lesson from history.
Five years since the Taliban’s return to power, Western democracies are increasingly engaging the regime in ways that, though often unintended, move forward a perception of legitimization in international circles. This is both confounding and dangerous to human rights, the credibility of individual countries, and global stability as a whole.
The French government, for example, recently confirmed “technical dialogue” with Taliban officials to discuss deportations of Afghan nationals in France without legal status and who pose a national security risk. France isn’t alone; the European Union has held similar meetings this year in Belgium. Germany has also permitted a delegation in country. All maintain they do not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate governing authority of Afghanistan. But the formality and frequency of these and other types of engagement paint a much different picture.
The Taliban are widely known as extremist, brutal, and corrupt, so it’s no surprise that millions of Afghans have fled since 2021. Like much of Europe, France has seen an increase in the number of Afghans migrating since the fall of Kabul in 2021, many requesting and receiving asylum protections. But there are some Afghans who fail to pass vetting, and they must be removed. It’s unfortunate that Western countries must negotiate with such totalitarians to get them to take back their own nationals. Although French officials are underplaying this official engagement, this discussion and France’s public acknowledgment that it is taking place aid the Taliban’s relentless propaganda and pursuit of official recognition.
France should of course remove foreign individuals who pose a risk, but Paris, in the pursuit of the real national security priority, shouldn’t lend legitimacy on the international stage to the Taliban. There is a line between reasonable actions and responsible ones, and free countries must balance the two to ensure public safety both at home and abroad.
Governments understandably need a communication channel to return nationals to their country of origin. Transparency on deportation arrangements is good. But France (and others) should be careful to do this while maintaining principled opposition to the Taliban’s record of brutality, criminality, and impunity.
First, and simplest, powerful countries need to negotiate repatriation agreements on their terms, not the Taliban’s. Meetings should only be held in third countries, like Qatar, and any publicity related to the meetings should be limited to ensuring the public has the facts.
Second, countries as well as regional and international bodies that have engaged (and enabled) the Taliban to facilitate deportations of individuals deemed national security risks should accompany their actions with clear and public support for vulnerable populations. This should include a strong and visible emphasis on those most impacted by the Taliban’s horrific oppression of the Afghan population, especially women and girls who have been systematically erased from public life.
Statements of disgust regarding the Taliban’s actions and resolutions in support of Afghan women and children must come with sustained support for advocates and investments in trusted organizations tirelessly working to provide access to quality education for girls and boys, funding and technical assistance for maternal and infant health, and economic opportunity programs.
Third, the global community should strengthen accountability mechanisms to pressure the Taliban and those who engage with them. This includes ensuring the full enforcement and expansion of targeted sanctions against Taliban leaders.
U.N. Resolution 1988 currently designates 135 individual Taliban leaders and five entities under a travel ban, asset freeze, and arms embargo, but no one has been added to the list for more than a decade. That means that more than 90% of current Taliban officials (including many cabinet ministers and the supreme leader) aren’t subject to any form of international sanctions.
The few that are sanctioned are increasingly traveling without obtaining an exemption, with virtually zero any repercussions for the regime, the U.N. member states hosting them, or private organizations that facilitate these opportunities.
The Taliban desperately want sanctions lifted – they’ve lobbied the U.N. and individual countries for years. Even as the Taliban have escalated their abuses – over the last three months alone in gender persecution, arbitrary detentions, and corporal punishment – the global community has done little to expand the sanctions. This is a misstep, but a correctable one.
Fourth, Western countries must continue to hold open pathways to safety for those persecuted by the Taliban. Women’s rights advocates and other vulnerable Afghans have been waiting years for the chance of refugee resettlement, with little movement. Free countries engaging the Taliban on deportations should facilitate resettlement options or refugee support for these groups.
The EU already broke its firm practice of only meeting with the Taliban in third countries when it hosted discussions in Brussels in June. Germany allows Taliban officials access and oversight of some of Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions to speed up removals (they actually started the process in 2025). And beyond immigration discussions, Norway and others have also hosted or granted visas to Taliban officials for official meetings or event participation in the past as well. Though often unintended, this is enablement in action by countries who otherwise defend democracy and human rights. And over the last two years especially, these types of meetings with regime officials, as well as other diplomatic, trade, and business engagements, have become a concerning trend that needs to stop. The Taliban are the same evil entity they always have been. Their nefarious intentions have created or exacerbated the conditions that have forced people to flee. All while their regime benefits.
The global community has the power to hold the regime accountable for its actions against its citizens, which include violence, oppression, and graft. Governments around the world should address migration and national security concerns. But they shouldn’t platform the Taliban in doing so.
