Subcommittee on Human Rights Ordinary meeting
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DROI European Parliament
Follow its sittingsSpeaker 1
Beyond the plight of women and girls, prosecutions of human rights defenders and civil society activists, politicians, journalists have intensified. The regime widely practices unfair trials, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, extrajudicial executions, and corporal punishment.
As for political and parliamentary life, it has been reduced to nothing. The bicameral parliament last election in 2018 was dissolved when the Taliban took power. The Taliban did not include the former parliament in its administrative structure and formally banned all political parties in August 23.
We deplore the fact that democratically elected parliamentarians are going into exile, threatened by the Taliban regime. It is therefore on all these subjects, which will be the subject topic of our discussion today, and on the actions taken by the EU.
Speaker 2
Before giving the floor to our guests, the colleague, madam Raquel Garcia, I would like to give you the floor for some introductory remarks on behalf of the delegation, and thank you again for joining. And the rest, I will do in English because that's how far my French goes.
Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle
Thank you so much. Thank you so much to our speakers. Thank you for joining us here today. Thank you to the representative for joining us. Thank you for having me at this important meeting.
And it's very good that we are having attention for the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, and particularly the situation affecting women and girls, because the crisis in Afghanistan is both urgent and enduring, striking at the core of human dignity through the systemic erosion of human rights with a particularly devastating impact on women and girls. In recent weeks, the situation has worsened significantly.
On the February 27, a serious military escalation between Afghanistan and Pakistan brought the region on the brink of what has been described by some as open war, and I'm sure that we will hear a bit more about that today given the recent developments. And this confrontation is not only geopolitical, but it is also a human tragedy.
Around 68,000 children have been displaced, and these are not just numbers, but lives disrupted, futures placed on hold, and childhoods cut short. This escalation occurs within an already fragile regional context, where rising tensions among major international actors risk further destabilization and broader spillover effects.
Afghan refugees, particularly in Iran, now face an impossible choice. Remain in precarious and often hostile conditions or return to a country where their safety and fundamental rights, particularly those of women and girls, cannot be guaranteed.
And even before these developments, Afghanistan was experiencing a deep humanitarian crisis, recurrent natural disasters, disruptions to international assistance, and large scale deportations from neighboring countries have intensified the suffering of the population. The consequences are severe and cannot be ignored. Food insecurity is rising, malnutrition is widespread, and access to essential services, including health care, particularly for women and girls, is increasingly limited.
Amit, sorry, amid this overlapping crisis, one issue demands particular attention. And that is the institutionalized discrimination against women and girls. Since the return of the Taliban, women have been systematically excluded from public life. They are denied education beyond primary level.
Barred from most forms of employment and are heavily restricted in their freedom of movement. These measures are not isolated. They form a coherent and deliberate system. Widely described, as the chair has previously said, as gender apartheid.
The situation has recently deteriorated further with the legalization of domestic violence in the Taliban's penal framework. And this deeply alarming development means that even within their homes, spaces they should offer safety, women are now legally vulnerable to abuse.
Compliance with restrictive laws no longer guarantees even minimal violence against women. Violence against women has not only been tolerated, but now it is also institutionalized. Afghan women are thus being stripped not only of their rights, but also of their legal protection, rendering them invisible.
In public life and voiceless in private life. The international community has taken some steps. In October 2025, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning these policies and recognizing the systemic nature of gender-based oppression.
In Afghanistan, including the mention of gender apartheid. This resolution called for urgent humanitarian assistance, protection of women’s and girls’ rights, including access to education and participation in public life, and reaffirms the principle of non-refoulement.
However, a fundamental dilemma remains. How can the international community support the Afghan population, particularly women and girls, without legitimizing a regime that violates the rights? There is no simple solution, and that's something that we have heard a lot in our engagement with Afghans within and outside the country.
But in my opinion, and that of my delegation, inaction is not an option. The humanitarian assistance must be maintained and strengthened. Aid must reach those who most in need, especially women and children, through channels that prevent diversion or politicization. Reducing or withdrawing aid would not weaken oppressive structures. It would only increase the suffering of the most vulnerable.
The international community in this parliament must remain firm in its commitment to human rights. Any engagement with the Taliban must be principled and conditional. And the exclusion of women from education and public life must never be normalized or accepted. Accountability is essential. Human rights violations cannot persist without consequences.
Mechanisms for documentation, investigation, and justice must be supported and reinforced. And the voices of Afghan women must be heard, amplified and protected. Afghanistan must remain high on the international agenda.
In a world facing multiple crises, there is a real risk of diminishing attention. That's something we also notice in this parliament, unfortunately. And yet, the situation in Afghanistan is not temporary. It is systematic and ongoing. Requiring sustained international focus and action.
And the struggle for human rights in Afghanistan is not only a national issue. But a global test of our commitment to fundamental principles, an indifference, or normalization is not acceptable. To close, Afghan women and girls continue to show extraordinary resilience, something that always touches me really deeply. And despite immense restrictions, they strive to learn, to support their families, and to preserve their dignity. They are not passive victims.
Speaker 4
They are active agents of courage and hope. I thank them for that. Thank you, chair.
Speaker 1
Thank you. You very much indeed, chair. I'll now give the floor to Madam Fusio Kufi. Let me briefly introduce her. She is the first female vice president of the parliament in Afghanistan, a former Taliban peace negotiator, chairperson of the women's council for Afghanistan.
Speaker 5
It's a great honor to have you here with us today. Please, you have the floor.
Speaker 6
Good. Morning. Thank you, Chair Satori, Madam Hermida, members of the human rights subcommittee, ladies and gentlemen, a special envoy for Afghanistan. It's a pleasure to be in this parliament before you twice this week.
This created already a rainbow of hope among the voiceless people of my country that European parliament among the competing agendas that is occupying our work, you still focus on something that we regard as an open wound on the case of Afghanistan.
Speaking about Afghanistan, for five decades, my defenseless people have been victim of wrong politics of the regional countries. And the global community. We have continued to pay the price time and again, not only the human losses, but we had to start from scratch every time.
Twenty years ago, when changes occurred in Afghanistan, I took it for granted. For a while, I breathe fresh air, and I thought this is going to be the end of it.
I don't need to talk about girls' education. I don't need to talk about women's rights anymore. When I was sitting in the parliament with the members of parliament wearing turbans, ties, representing diversity of Afghanistan. I thought this is it. We are on the right path.
I'm not going to talk about women's rights, and I don't need to struggle about it anymore. But twenty years later, our dreams, our aspirations for a better Afghanistan were shattered.
Millions of women in Afghanistan are living in a style of house arrest. As the Taliban first came to power, they launched their war against women. Despite their promise during negotiation that they will respect women rights, they say that on the record, to me and to my other fellow negotiators.
That woman from their perspective, like any other Muslim country, can go to school, university, work, including in the government. They were probably playing with us to get power. To get their, Doha agreement signed, that will pave the way for their return to power.
As soon as they got to power, they started by depriving girls of going to school. Now, in two days, the education school in Afghanistan will start. Twenty first March, the beginning of the education school in Afghanistan, education year.
It's five years that girls and women in Afghanistan do not go to university or school. Millions of women are not allowed anymore to go to jobs. They're stripped of their fundamental rights. As a result of that, it affects and impacts women's mental health, women's health, the country's economy.
My concern is that in one or two years, our health system will be completely disrupted because of the fact that women are not allowed to become doctors or nurses. This is unlike any other Muslim country.
The same country Qatar that provided office for Taliban have more females education, females in schools and education than male. Taliban self proclaimed definition of Islam is taking Afghanistan to stone age. And this is not going to remain in Afghanistan.
For five years, we have been raising our voice, saying that Afghanistan once again will be the safe haven for violent extremism. And today, yet again, my people are dragged into a war that is not their war.
Civilian casualties happen in Afghanistan today because of the wrong politics of Taliban. And neighboring countries are using or rather misusing the gap of a legitimate government to attack the civilian and public places.
If there was a legitimate government, would our neighboring countries, mainly Pakistan, dare to do so? I doubt it. So today, it's Pakistan. And the conflict in Afghanistan. Tomorrow, it can be anywhere, any place.
The Taliban are not honest in their promise that they are going to fight extremism. In fact, the only fight they will do is the fight against women. They're scared that uneducated women will not allow her son to pick up a gun. An educated woman will rather encourage her son to pick up a pen or her daughter to pick up a pen and fight through a civilian way to pursue her or his political dreams. But the Taliban want everybody to be as radicalized as they are.
They have started to create thousands of madrasas in Afghanistan. And my concern is that in five years' time, if the situation does not change, you will have a whole population of the people in Afghanistan, especially girls, that they will believe the same way as the Taliban believe.
Embracing suicide killing. So we have a global responsibility. You have a global responsibility because Europe, among all the challenging and competing crazy agendas in the world, is still the continent that people look towards as a continent that still is there to protect international justice, a continent that is there to protect institutions that are there to protect the voiceless. Europe is regarded as a continent that you are there to ensure that voiceless are heard.
The suppressed are empowered, that enabling environment is given to those who are suppressed by dictators. No other country in the world is suffering to the extent that women and girls in Afghanistan, and even men, are suffering. Not only by wars, but by the wrong policies of the one that are ruling them. And this continues.
Since the Taliban takeover, they have issued 262 edicts. And can you imagine, 121 more than that is only targeting women. Rights, freedom, liberty. Outfit, the way they speak, the volume of their voice, the way they wear clothes, to the extent that in us the chairperson of the delegation of Afghanistan said, in the recent penal code procedure, they have given the man of the family the power.
To punish a woman. So, basically, the oppressors are now given the power to punish. And in the recent law, they have also, you know, given more rights to animals than compared to a woman.
Well, it's good that at least more rights are given to animals, but can you believe it for a second? Can you put yourself in the place of women and girls in Afghanistan for a second? You wake up in the morning, you're not allowed to get out of your homes. You're not allowed to work.
Your space is only in the kitchen. And when you get the girls tell me in Afghanistan, when we get out of our homes, the Taliban soldiers look at us as if we are criminals.
Their eyes tell us that you are not supposed to go to the university. Are not supposed to go to work. You are not supposed to go to school. So why are you even out on the street? Why do you exist? The Taliban exist.
The question, the very existence of women as gender. As a human being. And they are being emboldened by the world. Sometimes when I'm being asked that, what do you want? I don't want NATO to bomb Afghanistan anymore. I don't want American b 56 to bomb my country because you did it.
And it didn't result. I want you to not embolden the Taliban. And then we will find our way. I want you to put conditions, principles on the way you engage with the Taliban.
I know these days so many domestic issues occupy internal elections, internal agendas in the European Parliament, or in domestic countries, territorial parliaments. Issues like migrants, shall we deport Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan? And under that pretext, there is engagement with the Taliban. Under your security, protect security, you engage with the Taliban. You find reasons to engage with the Taliban.
I wonder how many times when your diplomats meet the Taliban, the issue of women and human rights, which is a principle that we all feel ourselves abandoned to. Feel that we are there to protect it, especially in Europe.
How many times do they put women's rights as the first agenda to discuss? Many countries put Afghanistan under sanction not because women's rights are violated, just because their own citizens are being abducted by Taliban.
Recently, for instance, The United States put Afghanistan. Not even the Taliban, my country. Anything that the Taliban do wrong, it's affiliated with my country. As a country that sponsors and favors abduction and hostages.
For three citizens of the United States. Can you imagine 18,000,000 plus women are abducted and under house arrest by the Taliban. And we think it's normal. We should not normalize.
Apartheid.
Speaker 6
Because especially, I call on you, woman, my sisters, and also the men, because I know you are here, you believe in equality. You believe in a better life for everybody. I call on you.
Let's not normalize, because they're using women as a weapon for their negotiation. And they feel emboldened because nobody holds them accountable. So we must hold them accountable. I'm grateful for the European Union, that they recently, in October, sponsored the investigative mechanism for Afghanistan. These measures are important. I'm grateful to the European Union and many member states for referring the Afghanistan case to ICC and ICJ.
We need to expedite ICJ because Nederland express intention. You know, probably, you will say these measures are limited to the European capitals. They might not make a big difference in Afghanistan.
Trust me. They will. When the ICC issued an arrest warrant against two Taliban leaders, women in Afghanistan were calling me and they were chairing that. We must use these institutions because they are there to protect us. In the meantime, we must continue to support our people, my brothers and sisters in Afghanistan through humanitarian aid.
Afghanistan is a rich country of poor people. My heart breaks when I ask for humanitarian aid. But Taliban have a good division of labor. They want the international community to feed the people of Afghanistan, and they collect the revenue to pay for their soldiers and their intelligence to suppress the people further.
So your responsibility is to feed the people of Afghanistan. But in the meantime, let's all of us work towards changing the political ecosystem. We need your solidarity for that.
I thank you.
Speaker 7
Be. Very difficult for me to speak after that. Thank you very much. That was very clear. A lot of commitment.
For us in the subcommittee, we're very clear on what's going on in Afghanistan. And gender apartheid, and our continued support for the population.
Women specifically, and our support and push. To go against the crimes of the Taliban. Are committing. I think one of my colleagues and I am very clear about that.
And now hand over to Mister Miriam Sullivan Keel, member of parliament in exile, a member of parliament for the defense committee of the parliament of Afghanistan. You've got 7 minutes.
Speaker 9
Members of the European Parliament, Mister Bertrand, PGA, thank you for having us today. Whenever everyone has shut our voices down, you have given us a platform. I've come from a long way, and I'm very exhausted from what's been happening in my country in the last week. So I've written my speech. Please excuse me for the motion.
As I was flying to Brussels, I received devastating news from Afghanistan. Another attack had struck. This time, the target was a rehabilitation hospital. More than 400 people have been killed. More than two hundred fifty people injured.
These were not fighters. They were patients. They were doctors. They were families. People who had already suffered injuries from years of war and were trying to rebuild their lives.
And once again, the victims were not terrorists. They were civilians. Pakistan claims it is fighting terrorists, but the bodies being pulled from the rubble are Afghan civilians. This tragic pattern is something Afghans know too well.
In my paternal province of Paktika, in the district of Barmal, similar strikes have taken place under the same justification that militants were being targeted, but I know the families who were affected, entire households destroyed, children buried, villages shattered. Each time, the explanation is the same.
Terrorists were the target. Yet the graves that are dug belong to civilians. For forty years, Afghanistan has buried its children while the world debates strategy. I come before you today as a member of the Afghan parliament in exile, where I represent the Kuchi people. The Kuchis are one of Afghanistan's oldest communities.
Nomadic pastoralists, who have moved across the country for centuries, connecting regions and tribes across Afghanistan. Communities like ours understand something deeply. When instability spreads, when borders become battlefields, when governments collapse, it is always the ordinary people who suffer first.
During my time in parliament, I also served as a deputy speaker of the defense commission, working closely with Afghanistan's security institutions during some of the most difficult years of the war.
Today, I also speak to you as one of the founders of Avron Peacewatch. A monitoring network with trusted contacts across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Through this network, we receive daily reports from teachers, elders, doctors, journalists, and families. These voices rarely reach rooms like this. But they should. Two days ago, in the morning, I spoke with a father in Kandahar.
His daughter was 14 years old. She took her own life. Her dream was simple. She wanted to continue school. Her father told me something that I will never forget. He said he regrets encouraging her to dream about a future that she could never have now. Because now she understands that the future had been taken away.
He hates the Taliban. But he cannot say that publicly. In Afghanistan today, even grief must remain silent. Across the country, an entire generation is growing up under prolonged trauma. Girls who once carried books now see no future. Families live under constant fear of punishment and surveillance.
According to the United Nations, the Taliban have issued more than 80 decrees on the rights and freedoms of women and girls since 2021. Girls are banned from secondary schools and universities. Women are banned from most employment. Women are banned from parks, gyms, and many public spaces.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has documented public floggings, executions, and corporal punishment carried out across multiple provinces. These punishments are not only about enforcing rules. They are meant to break the spirit of an entire society.
But Afghanistan's suffering does not stop within its borders. According to UNHCR, more than 1,000,000 Avrons have been enforced or pressured to return from Pakistan since late 2023. With hundreds of thousands more forced back from Iran. Many of these families lived in those countries for decades. Even Afghans carrying official UN refugee documentation have been detained, deported, or imprisoned.
Women and children today sit in detention centers waiting to be expelled. Meanwhile, individuals internationally recognized as terrorists have long operated openly. Figures like Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Masud Azhar, leader of Jaish Mohammed. Are widely known names who are hand in hand with ISI generals today, walking freely.
So we must ask a difficult question. Why are refugee families imprisoned? Extremist networks are allowed to exist. And if we are going to speak honestly about Afghanistan's future, we must also speak honestly about its past. For decades, Afghanistan was turned into an arena of warfare and militant networks. Even Western leaders have acknowledged this.
Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton once stated clearly, we helped create the problem. We are now fighting. Pakistan's own leaders have acknowledged their role as well. Former president Parwaiz Musharraf openly admitted that Pakistan supported and trained Taliban fighters during the 1990s as part of its regional strategy. And in 2011, Secretary Clinton warned Pakistan directly, you cannot keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbors.
Today, those snakes are biting everyone. The Taliban, who were once tolerated as strategic assets, are now fighting their former sponsors. But once again, the militants are not the ones suffering.
The victims are all civilians. Not one Avant today lives in, and the consequences of this instability will not stop in Afghanistan. When a country of more than 40,000,000 people is pushed into poverty, repression, and conflict, the consequences spread outward.
Extremism spreads. Human trafficking networks grow. Migration pressure increases. Europe has seen this before. Preventing the next crisis requires addressing Afghanistan's situation now, not after it spills beyond our region.
But accountability alone is not enough. The world must begin preparing for a future beyond the Taliban. Afghanistan cannot move from one armed faction to another. The Afghan people have lived through that cycle too many times.
The future of Afghanistan must rest on three foundations. First, legitimacy. Any future government must come from free and fair elections. Not the power of a militia or of foreign intelligence services. Second, inclusion.
Afghanistan is a country of many communities: Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, and nomadic communities like the Kuchis, whom I represented in the parliament. A stable Afghanistan must include all of its people, including especially women and other vulnerable communities. Third, rights.
Girls must return to school. Women must return to public life. Citizens must be able to speak without fear. These are not Western values. These are human values.
And millions of Avrons fight and die defending them. Afghanistan has been treated as a chessboard for geopolitical strategy for more than 40 years. But Afghanistan is not a chessboard. It is a nation of human beings. And today, those people are asking the world a simple question.
Will you stand with those Afghans who believe in democracy, dignity, and freedom? Or will Afghanistan once again be abandoned to those who silence girls and rule through fear? The Afghan people have not given up. The question now is whether the world will stand with them.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Speaker 7
Thank you so much. Mister Petron. It'll be difficult to speak. After these two comments, we're looking forward to what you have to say.
Speaker 10
Mister chairman, and it's a pleasure to be here today. Thank you to madam Kufi, madam Solomon Hill, for their very forceful presentations. And thank you very much to Parliament for having Afghanistan on the agenda. With the crucial issue of Afghan women and girls, but more broadly, for reminding us that despite all the crisis, despite the situation in the world, we cannot afford to forget what is happening in Afghanistan. The situation in Afghanistan is not getting better.
It is getting worse. Security wise, with the ongoing tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, economically, and, of course, in terms of human rights. Total, 5,400,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan and Iran over the last few years, some of them forcibly. That includes women, girls, and boys, and that places additional pressure on already vulnerable communities. If you listen to the UN's figures, this means that 22,000,000 Afghans, twice Belgium almost, 45% of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance.
And in addition, with the ongoing regional conflagration, there is a heightened risk for further returnees, but also for humanitarian and trade routes to Afghanistan to become more erratic. On the human rights situation, which is the main subject of today, and those of women and girls, news is even worse.
Participants have mentioned the decree number 12. The criminal procedures code and the serious human rights concerns that it raises. It's a decree that allows different punishments based on social status. That grants broad discretionary powers to courts, including in cases of capital punishment, that further undermines the rights of women and girls, exposes them to greater risks of violence, discrimination, legitimizes marital violence. It allows women or their relatives to be detained if a woman repeatedly visits her family without her husband's permission. The decree effectively removes equality before the law between men and women, and it further restricts women's ability to seek any kind of protection or justice before the courts.
These are provisions that are incompatible with Afghanistan's international human rights obligations, they further weaken legal safeguards for women. They add up to the law on the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice.
Was issued in 2024. That's already consolidated and codified many of the restrictive measures that were imposed by the Taliban since 2021. The European Union and its member states have been united in condemning the ever-increasing restrictions targeting women, have repeatedly and strongly condemned the systematic and systemic human rights violations and abuses in Afghanistan, particularly against women and girls. I have raised this in each and every meeting I have had with the de facto authorities in my two visits in Kabul in October and December.
And the Afghan de facto authorities will not become a normal and recognized member of the international community as long as these practices continue. We place the Afghan people and the Afghan women at the center of all our actions. Colleagues from the commission probably say more on this, but our assistance is provided through international organizations and CSOs in a manner following what we've called the by women, for women approach. Which ensures that women play a significant role in the aid delivery process, so that it can actually reach women. Our support also extends to media, human rights defenders, and civil society organizations that promote and advocate for human rights. And we have also significantly contributed to the empowerment of women in the business sector, one of the rare areas where women can be present with many restrictions, but we managed to support approximately 8,000 women-owned businesses and to assist 3,500 women in developing and expanding their businesses.
This has a multiplying effect, with many women-led businesses employing other women. Sadly, the Taliban have not limited themselves to the restrictions on day-to-day life, but that has also been mentioned.
They cause long-term structural damage to Afghan society by limiting girls' education. The continued ban on girls' education beyond grade six that has now been in place for four years remains the most severe and the most prolonged restriction of girls' rights globally.
It's also jeopardizing, we can say clearly, the country's future. It jeopardizes having doctors, teachers, and all sorts of women professionals that later, especially in a segregated logic like the one of the Taliban, are the only ones who can reach Afghan women for their health, for their education, and for other purposes.
So the cumulative effect of restrictions on education, work, freedom of movement, dress, and participation in public life may amount to gender persecution. And this, under international law, can constitute a crime against humanity. The sustained educational exclusion also damages human capital.
It weakens in the institutions. Undermines long-term development prospects of the country. And denying education to half of the population is entrenching poverty, fueling intergenerational inequality, undermining social cohesion. There will be no sustainable peace, stability, or even prosperity, sorry, or even stability in Afghanistan as long as women and girls are excluded from education and public life.
Despite the gravity of the situation, we find it important that Afghanistan not be seen as a lost cause. The lack of progress over the past four years should not lead the international community to disengage from supporting the Afghan people. The EU remains firmly committed to supporting the Afghan people.
While a number of other donors have slowly disengaged. Since 2021, the EU and its member states have mobilized €1,900,000,000 in assistance to help address humanitarian needs and to support the most vulnerable, including women and girls. And further disengagement by the international community would only risk deepening the humanitarian crisis, increasing poverty and instability, and creating conditions that can fuel radicalization and irregular migration.
This is why we consider that continued engagement is essential to support the Afghan people to maintain humanitarian access, to help prevent further regional and global consequences of the crisis. This is why the European Union has never left and why our delegation today remains the only representation of Europe of the 450 million Europeans that you represent.
In Kabul, this is the reason why we uphold our assistance and our principled engagement, and also why the HRVPN Commissioner, Harbib, published a statement yesterday, an immediate reaction to the bombing of a rehabilitation center in Kabul, recording that both parties have a responsibility to avoid and to take all measures and precautions to minimize risk of harming civilians, joining calls for an immediate ceasefire and asking for a resumption of dialogue.
Between Pakistan and the de facto authorities. I will stop here, and I'll be happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much.
Speaker 11
Thank you. You. I'll open the floor. For comments from the colleagues, starting with Isabella. Thank you very much, Chair.
Speaker 12
As you already said, it's very difficult to speak after your comments. But we were aware of all this. Absolutely. It's important to continue to listen to you, to give you the floor. To hear what you have to say.
I wanted to start by saying that we will never normalize. This. The situation of the women in Afghanistan is absolutely dreadful. Women being locked up at home, everything you've said, the situation of women in Afghanistan, it's so far from what it should be. That it beggars belief.
But. It seems as though with this law, we no longer have the right to hear the voices of women. They're trying to negate the existence of women. It's really very difficult. It's very emotional.
I'm really struggling. Our message is that we stand by you. We will continue to do so.
Speaking. About women, should be at the heart of any kind of high level meetings and encounters. It's absolutely indispensable. I wanted to tell you that we're aware of that. And that we will continue to call for a change of the situation.
So this is a message of support. We truly stand by your side. I read a book when I was a little girl. About a little girl in Afghanistan. Who would dress up like a boy to be able to go out to make a little bit of money to survive, and that has stayed with me.
Over the decades. We were hoping for change, but we're finding ourselves in the same situation. Which really gives me goosebumps. So like to finish by just saying thank you. Thank you for being here today.
Speaker 13
Thank you. You. Thank you, chair. I'm going to be speaking Italian. I always listen very carefully to what you say, and I am moved by what you say.
I think it's right that we hear Afghan women's voices here, because that's something that's denied to you in Afghanistan. I would like to agree with what my colleague Vissola Lima has said.
When I worked as a journalist, I used to work with Afghan colleagues. They used to work very closely with me, and they used to come to Europe. Things which are no longer possible. But none of them have been able to stay in Afghanistan. They've had to move elsewhere to be able to do their job.
And this really tells us a lot about the situation that we're in. I don't want to repeat the very eloquent and clear things that you've said. We all have those in mind.
But I would like to refer to the fact that last autumn, 20 European countries, 19 member states of the European Union, plus Norway, which is part of our delegation, wrote to commissioner Brunner, who's responsible for migration. Then talking about this new process that may be put in place to make it easier to send people to Afghanistan? This be a way of normalizing the situation of Afghanistan of women and girls.
For all of these European countries to be able to say we've reached an agreement, and we can send these people back. We don't have to see what's happening there.
But here in this parliament, we know what's happening. We have this widespread feeling, but outside of here in European politics, if I look at what's happening in Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, our host country, they're all pushing us in that direction. We need to be aware of that, and you need to know that as well. If you can help us with this problem, which is turning back history, and is then causing all of that pain that you are suffering, we're all very well aware of that.
Thank you.
Thank you. You, Mr. Gasser.
Speaker 14
Won't. Go into the emotions I'm feeling. Or the indignation I'm feeling, that's not purposeful. I won't even express my solidarity because that would not be purposeful, and it would even feel a little bit awkward. However, what I will say is the following.
If you want to combat an adversary, you have to understand them. You have to understand what drives them. What's going on in their minds, the Taliban are not an adversary of the European Union.
They're an adversary of humans.
Why. Do the Taliban hate women so much? Do you have any explanation? Because I'd like to understand, or at least start to understand, because it's probably quite difficult to understand. There are lots of reasons that come to mind, of course, but I'd really like to hear what you have to say on that.
Speaker 15
Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Guetta. Would anyone else like to take the floor? And the members, no? No? Mister Lubetka? Maybe I can ask you because I meet afterwards the ambassadors of the GCC countries.
Speaker 16
Do you have the feeling that you are supported in your struggle by the Islamic world. Because the European world is a different one. But I think the Taliban have a relationship with at least some of these countries.
Speaker 7
Thank you, Mr. Labadka. I have a couple of brief questions. Here, we're all members and we know exactly how we can use our terms to then do what we want to get done what we want.
But how do you do that? Being in exile in terms of how you communicate. How can you then carry out that democratic role that you have? Where does your assistance come from? Where are you supported? And what more do you need? Because it would be interesting to know how you can carry out your democratic functions when you're abroad.
Then I'd like to be a bit more specific about the situation. I've heard what Mr. Bertrand has said, and I think this relationship is between having humanitarian assistance and then dealing with the regime.
But here, we're talking about fanatics. Fanatics then don't know any limits. But we have limits here. We have very clear red lines that no one goes beyond. If we were to put in place more red lines, would you suggest two or three that we should use? I'm thinking of one.
After RIVE. Heard you speak that today, women should already be able to be doctors and nurses. That should be an immediate red line to make sure that the health system doesn't collapse and to allow women's education. Are we sufficiently clear and firm when we do this? And you've been negotiators with the Taliban. You know how all of this works. Do we need to be even more firm and resolute, or would that lead us to complete failure? And I'm assuming that the commission will want to say something on this as well, because I'd be happy to hear them speak as well.
But go ahead.
Speaker 6
Thank you. You so much for the words of solidarity and support, and for the questions. I'll take two questions, and then my sister would answer the rest. On the red lines, and the issue of if pressure works or concessions work.
I think I would like to remind all of us that the Taliban were not brought to power as a result of pressure. They came to power because of the concession that were made to them in the Doha process and the Duha agreement that was signed with them. In the whole Duha agreement, there is no one word mentioned of human rights or women's rights.
And you know that the European Union was not meaningfully part of that. Yes. Some countries were friends monitoring the situation, but it was a bilateral agreement between United States and the Taliban.
An Afghan government as a party as a major victim of this, we paid the highest price, 70,000 plus military soldiers were killed. Thousand 100,000 of civilians were killed. We were not included in the initial negotiation.
So concessions brought the Taliban to power. And when they first came to power, I still had contact with some of their members because we were negotiating in one room for one year. They told me that, you know, they were not happy. Some of them were not happy with the decisions of the leader.
Told me, Miss Guffey, nothing works except pressure and principled pressure. I think we have given the Taliban so many concessions that now they are so emboldened that they do not even allow UN female staff to go to the offices. The national UN staff are not working from their offices.
Despite the UN being directly engaged with the Taliban, I think there should be some principal pressure. First of all, any aid that goes to Afghanistan we must make it clear that the aid will only be sent to Afghanistan when we are ensured that women and men equally benefit not only as beneficiaries, but also as decision makers.
On a larger scale, I think we need to be firm and tell them why are not they keeping their promise in the Doha agreement? And the process of peace? They said women can work publicly, women can go to school and be the prime minister.
I think it's the United States who had that negotiation with them, and they should hold him accountable for that. And all of us, we should hold them accountable for what they said.
So money that goes to Afghanistan, now 40,000,000 to 80,000,000 dollars go to the Taliban every week. There should be some level of accountability for where the money is going. Secondly, in any of the engagement, and I'm grateful that, you know, special invite mentioned in his statement that he's bringing, women rights should be number one. Because I hear from people on the ground that this issue of woman rights is not number one in the negotiation with the Taliban.
Apartheid is a reality, happening in Afghanistan. It's not a political statement. A systematic exclusion of a part of society from anything in society is apartheid. And apartheid is happening in Afghanistan.
Can we criminalize the act of apartheid, gender apartheid? How do we operate briefly? For me, as an individual that never wanted, never dreamed, never hoped to leave my country. I invested my blood. I was injured once. In my country.
It's the most difficult and stressful time of my life to be outside of Afghanistan. But thanks to technology, I wake up and operate based on Afghanistan time. I wake up when the official timing starts in Afghanistan. And we are connected almost 24 hours a day with the people on the ground.
I do have my family, but above all, I have my community. People still regard us as their MP, as their representative. When they have a problem, they don't go to the Taliban. They call us. And I feel so powerless because when people call me, when a woman who holds a PhD degree calls me and asks me to send her $20, she needs to take her child to the doctor.
She cannot work. It's not easy. It's not easy for me who dreamed otherwise for my country. So we are basically working on Afghanistan time. Our bags are packed with the hope that we will very soon return to a country which is safe for everybody.
For a life with a dignified life. And last point, why the Taliban hate, I will keep it brief. Why do the Taliban hate women? Their whole existence when they came was based on this narrative of anti-woman.
In fact, what the Taliban do on many occasions, and they claim it is against, in contradiction with Islam. For instance, in Islam, it says iqra means read. The first verse that came to our prophet was read.
But the Taliban banned women and girls from reading and writing. Under the same religion. They are afraid of women because they want to be the king of society and the king of the family.
And woman as a slave. They know that if they open allow women the space, they will eventually lose their fight, soldiers and their fighters. You know, for 20 years, they said, in the cities, women have become infidels. They have converted.
They're spies of the Western world. We should fight. When their soldiers came to Afghanistan, I was in Kabul. They put me under house arrest. One of their soldiers who was supposed to stop me from going out once told me, we were told that in Kabul, women are infidels, that they are all spies of West.
But you wear a scarf. You look like my mother or my sister. You don't look any different. The Taliban started making their policies tough so that they don't lose their foot soldiers that for decades, they brainwashed them, that we need to fight so that we protect Islam.
What kind of an Islam they're protecting when they are contradicting the same principles of Islam? The OIC member states have an important role to play. They have had some issue, the edicts, an issue, statements to issue condemning the ban on girls' education, etcetera.
The GCC, they are the most relevant now, although there is a crisis, but they are the most relevant. I think it's important that we bring to their attention that we need a more, you know, dynamic approach from there. Side.
It's important that Muslim countries stand in solidarity with women of Afghanistan and against what's happening in Afghanistan. Because the Taliban are doing it under the name of Islam, which is not even Islamic.
So we do need member states of GCC and OIC. In fact, in the Human Rights Council, I had expected them to also sponsor some of these accountability mechanisms, and we are working with them.
We are working to change the situation on the ground in Afghanistan, but they know need to be a little bit bolder, and you know, have a firmer stance on this.
Thank you.
Speaker 9
Thank you, Kofi Saip. I'll add on to that. I think your question on why Taliban hate women is the core question, and this is what this ideology stands on. I can move from there to the other questions that were also answered.
Thank you for your words as well, respected parliamentarians, it means a lot, your solidarity with us. Why they hate women is because they fear women. An educated woman, we all have mothers. We all know that our language, our culture, our religion, our history is passed down to us by our mother. You educate a woman, she learns the Quran.
She learns about different religions. She learns about philosophies. And she doesn't allow her child to be manipulated. To get indoctrinated into extremist groups. Correct? So if you take away this one point and take away that hate towards women, they will lose all their foot soldiers.
They will lose all their legitimacy among the extremists in the Islamic world today. Because that's what their base is with that. I am I'm not famous for saying let Afghan girls learn because I do believe that a curriculum is very important in this regard.
I say don't let Afghan boys learn under the Taliban. What are they learning? I think this is almost the first time I'll say this. I think it's almost a blessing that Afghan girls can't learn a Taliban curriculum.
Because what would they learn? Would we start seeing female suicide bombers? So, we have to be very careful when we talk about educating Afghan girls. What the curriculum is is people is what if it's more dangerous than not having an education at all? The GCC, I think the parliament member is not here anymore.
The GCC is unbelievably important. They tried to say they tried to tell me who represents one of the most conservative groups in Afghanistan, the Kuchis, that this is my culture.
Come visit my family. Come visit my, hear the of my grandmother and my great-grandmother and how matriarchal we are. How many strong women come from my culture? The Taliban wanted to replace my culture with the ideology that was not built in Afghanistan. It was imported into Afghanistan.
This isn't my culture. This isn't what I represent. This isn't what any Afghan represents. We don't oppress our women in this manner. We don't push this type of extremism this manner.
The GCC is quiet, and I believe they're quiet because this form of extremist Islam is going to spread. And well, the first place it's gonna spread is gonna be the GCC. Factions will happen.
We've been saying this for 5 years. That right now the Taliban don't represent Afghans, but they represent Islam. They're not saying it's a cultural thing. They're saying this is the true version of Islam. And there's very few people in the Islamic world that are able to stand up and say no to have this debate with the Taliban because it's faith.
You can't argue with them. It comes down to it, I don't think many people can argue with the Taliban. So the first and GCC should be very involved in this. Because the danger is first with them.
Different factions of extremists are going to be born in the GCC. They're gonna question the rule in the GCC and bring instability there. From there, it's gonna move into Europe and the United States.
So it's unbelievably important that first line, start from the Muslim world, and they should be involved. In stopping this extremist ideology. How do we communicate in exile? And how do we exist in exile, it's unbelievably difficult.
So one, we talk about the death toll. We talk about the survivors in Afghanistan, but we don't talk about the people who are injured, people who died. We know about this.
I can bring you a few weeks ago, madam parliamentarian, a few weeks ago, there was a little girl who was dressed up as a little boy to work. Yeah. Nuria. And her name was Nuria.
And the Taliban caught her. Then they recorded her. And they accidentally leaked it of a little girl, maybe 11 or 12 years old. She was dressed as a boy to work. They intimidated her.
They belittled her in this video, and then they leaked it. We don't know where she is now. But we can guess where she is now. She's disappeared. So there's countless new ideas.
This is just one that we saw. Existing in exile is unbelievably difficult. It's a responsibility we took on when we took that oath. The same oath that you guys took.
Right now, the leader of the Taliban after women, the second thing that he fears is the voting box. Afghans are not the Taliban, and the Taliban are not Afghans. Fawzia and I have more legitimacy than they do.
That's why I never accept the title of former parliamentarian. No. I'm still a parliamentarian. Fawzia, until there's a free and fair election that we had in Afghanistan, I am a parliamentarian. I have a responsibility on my shoulders.
And I can't sleep because of it. So the prolonged trauma of living in danger, this is what I was going to get to. Death, injury aside, prolonged trauma, generational trauma. My grandfather was killed during the communist invasion.
He was a general in Afghanistan. I come from a long line of warriors. That trauma has been passed down generation to generation. Living amongst an area where I watched my uncle get murdered by the Taliban, my friends get murdered by the Taliban, 15 of my coworkers in one bombing get killed.
I had to go and have a funeral with the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum minister who was here yesterday. Fifteen of our colleagues were murdered in one day from a sticky bomb. Imagine burying all of them. And the world is just ignoring it.
Imagine in one of your country's 400 people in a hospital were blown up yesterday. I had to fly on a plane here. I haven't slept in 48 hours. That's why I'm not 100% myself.
All hell would break loose if 400 people had died in your country. 400 people die in my country, and it's not a big deal. So it's unbelievably difficult to be an avant-parliamentarian in exile.
But it's you who give me faith. It's you who give me the power and energy. We're not financially okay. We're not emotionally okay. The therapists that we go to tell us, you know, we're not qualified.
To help you heal. I start thinking, okay, if I can't find a therapist for myself for prolonged trauma, right? Imagine these soldiers are now in your countries as refugees.
Who barely know the language, who barely know the culture, what do you expect from them? Protect them. Find programs for them. Amongst your country. They were your allies. They were on the front line fighting for democracy, fighting against terrorism, fighting for women's rights.
Protect them. And please, if anything, one thing that I do recommend all of you do is look into the Taliban supporters who are living in Europe. Why are they living here? If my country was fear-free and I was able to live there, I wouldn't be living in the United States.
I'd be back in Afghanistan. Why are Taliban supporters with their wives and their children living in Europe? Deport them back. That's their government. They support them. It's clear.
You guys can't say it, I will. Anyone who is supportive of an oppressive regime that decided that women aren't humans anymore. Let's take that question back. Are women humans? This is a human rights crisis. 21,000,000 women are being erased from society. They're not considered women.
Forget about gender. Just human beings alone. Again, I've taken too much time and I've gotten a little bit emotional, but I again, thank you for everything.
Speaker 7
Mister. Bertrand? Would you like to conclude? And then we'll hear from the other speakers.
Speaker 10
Maybe very soon, and then colleagues from the commission will take over. But think on most of the points that were made in the debate, the questions were mostly for the two parliamentarians who are here.
I think, I mean, on the question of aid, colleagues can give more detail. But on what Mrs. Puffy was mentioning, is exactly what we try to do through the buy women, for women approach.
The money that the European money that goes into Afghanistan goes, obviously, through international NGOs, through UN agencies. We do not deal directly financially with the de facto authorities. And this also means what we try to do in the way we design our aid and in the way also we implement it is that we try to have women being part of it, that we can basically reach women in Afghanistan and reach them through all the humanitarian, but also the basic human needs approach.
I think another element, we touched a lot on this was the subject of the conversation on the international human rights commitments of Afghanistan. As you know, this is one of the three conditions that the world has set. The UN Security Council has set towards the Taliban, taking over the International Commitments of Afghanistan, especially on human rights and especially on women and girls. There is the aspect of inclusivity and having an inclusive government. And there is the fact that Afghanistan should not remain or become again a safe haven for terrorist groups. And I think the one on inclusivity is one that we should perhaps stress as conclusion.
We firmly believe from the EU side that stability, prosperity and sustainable peace in Afghanistan and the region actually can only be realized through a participatory and inclusive political process with governance structures that reflect the country's diverse social fabric and with, of course, equal opportunities for full and equal participation of Afghan women. And this is not something that should be imposed from the outside or even can be imposed from the outside. This is something that belongs to the Afghans, but this is for the Afghan nation in all its diversity to find that path, and to put an end to that winner takes all logic. That has prevailed in Afghanistan over the years, and that actually prevents the country from being at peace with itself. And also at peace with the broader region.
Thank you.
One. One minute. Okay.
Speaker 6
In conclusion, I would like to say that women's rights in Afghanistan and human rights are directly linked to a legitimate government, a legitimate government that embraces the diversity of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is the most diverse country in one of the most con diverse countries in the world. There are people who speak 29 languages, many ethnic groups, religious groups. But the current Taliban government is like the de facto government, it is government of Taliban for Taliban by Taliban.
We all must work for a government that is representative of that diversity. And that is the source of the conflict in Afghanistan. Until and unless a representative government is established, the vicious circle of conflict will continue sadly. And so we must put all our efforts for an inclusive and representative government, including, as stated, by women. And women, the most part of the government.
Thank you.
Speaker 1
Thank you. You. Thank you. Now I'd like to give the floor to Mr. Lenormand. For three minutes. If you don't mind, chair, but we would like to hear your answers.
Speaker 18
Which are very relevant to those questions. Thank you. I'm going to start off, and then I'll hand over to my colleague.
Parliament who have actually put the issue. As Gilles said, it's a moment where there is not the necessary attention.
As you mentioned yourself, madam, there is competition for attention at the moment in Afghanistan. Deserve the attention it doesn't have at the moment. So thank you for putting you on the agenda. That's just extremely important.
I would also like to underline the courage of the two madames. A country where it's not the voice of woman who is criminalized, it's the sound of the voice of woman.
We know how dangerous it is to take the floor and express democratic position. So just to also underline that, and to thank you for this courage, I mean. A bit difficult to talk after that, but I mean, just to explain that because it's something.
On the humanitarian crisis in the country, you mentioned it yourself. What women are living is a crisis in a crisis. 22,000,000 people in one of the top three in the world. On which you have to add now refugees pouring in from Pakistan and Iran. Despite the war, there are still 6,000 people getting every day, which is crazy.
And I'm mentioning both the war in Iran and in Pakistan. On top of that, we had a long series of earthquakes and massive flash floods which is eating in a third wave the same people that are already suffering from the two precedent ordeal.
Now the one with Pakistan and Afghanistan, you mentioned yesterday, terrible bombing. In all those things, the women are the most vulnerable and attacked person. So it's really in the simple sentence, the worst place for us to be for a woman. And I thank you to highlight that.
I think it's not highlighting enough. That's hell for us. In terms of humanitarian assistance, just to reiterate what Gilbert just said. You said 2,000,000. Going to the Taliban.
There is not €1. From humanitarian EU humanitarian aid that is part of this 2,000,000. If ever we had a project that we do, we will close it overnight. That is a promise.
We are principal, and we work with partners and it might happen one day, will close the action because we have been built and mandated by law, by this house and the council.
Actually work with an independent partner in the principal manner. The woman for woman by woman is essential, and you mentioned the health sector, it's essential. We can still work in the health sector today.
But the fear, of course, is the next generation. If there is no education in this area, it will not work. And we are systematically fearing that further restriction will happen.
Not the mother of a battle, the head of sector. We are still investing in it. We are talking to everybody to push in the same direction. And you're rightly mentioned it, this is why where the red line and, Mr. Tucha, you mentioned the red line and you mentioned this one. We have exactly the same red line.
If one day, women cannot work in the health sector, we will have no choice then to reconsider maybe not working in the health sector. Then one last point. This is very difficult to say in simple terms, but the situation of woman is terrible.
Let we must avoid to let them alone to face this terrible fate. And today, as a donor, as a humanitarian donor, we are a little bit alone on Afghanistan.
Many donors have withdrawn. And I found that somehow extremely strange that because you know the women are facing a terrible situation, you leave them alone. This is precisely why we should support more women organizations, more women-led organizations inside or outside, and keep engaged.
When it gets to Eco as a humanitarian body, you mentioned it, Jill, the situation is worsening. Huge malnutrition popping out. Young girls and women are primarily victims of this malnutrition.
We have among the highest maternal mortality. So we just decided to activate the head reserve, which is the emergency response. To actually try to mitigate a little bit this pain.
We have an annual budget of €114,000,000. We will top it up with €58,000,000 to try to do that. But again, we leave it alone. So if I have myself one ask, it's actually, and I know the parliament do that very well, it's actually to ask for the donors.
To stay engaged. Stay engaged with women, to stay engaged with whatever the constituency allows them to do inside or outside, but not to leave the Afghan woman alone. And I can assure you, the commissioner, Labib, said yesterday, will stay engaged ourselves on your side, and do whatever we can do to help you.
Thank you very much.
Speaker 20
Gilles, let me first, of course, thank the two African members of parliament in exile for their very strong interventions and account. These are vital to keeping Afghanistan and the situation of women and girls high on our shared agenda.
Over the past four and a half years, we, as the Director General for International Partnerships, have supported the Afghan people by mobilizing more than €900,000,000 to strengthen basic services and sustain livelihoods.
Our stance remains unchanged. We do not recognize the Taliban regime. All EU assistance is channeled to international and nongovernmental organizations which continue to implement our principled by women, for women approach, ensuring that women are meaningfully included throughout the aid delivery process. EU aid is not diverted or used for the benefit of the Taliban de facto authorities. Our work is also guided by the 2021 and 2023 Council conclusions, which enable technical engagement with the de facto authorities.
And this engagement, we believe, is essential to preserve advocacy of self-said, my colleagues Advocacy space to maintain access and navigate growing operational challenges. In all exchanges with the de facto authorities, we reaffirm Afghanistan's international obligations, in particular girls' rights to education and the need for unrestricted humanitarian operations so that our principal programming can continue to reach those most in need.
Our assistance is delivered directly to the Afghan people with a particular focus on the most vulnerable, especially women and girls and forced returnees, internally displaced persons, and their host communities. In this context, a DG INTPA will continue its basic needs and livelihoods assistance. Our €883,000,000 Afghanistan package for 2025 will sustain this support by placing a stronger strategic focus on economic stabilization and community resilience. Within this, we prioritize clearly women-led businesses, which often employ and empower other women and create a strong multiplier effect.
In addition, we have adopted a top-up of EUR 38,500,000 in regional migration funding to respond to the Afghan returnee crisis. Looking ahead to 2026 now, our overall funding for Afghanistan is expected to remain broadly consistent. With programming decision and visits later this year, including a top up on regional support for the displacement crisis 26-27.
Importantly, my recent mission to Afghanistan in February 2026, and I was actually there in the EU delegation in the safe room when they bombed. Confirmed that principled EU support continues to reach beneficiaries, especially women we met. Even in an increasingly challenging context. On the ground, we also, of course, complement DG ECHO's life-saving humanitarian assistance. Putting our nexus approach into practice and facilitating a transition from emergency relief to longer-term resilience.
In example, DG Inpak complements DG ECHO's post-arrival humanitarian system at border points with support for reintegration of returnees and host communities, including inclusive economic recovery, income generation, and access to basic services.
Thank you.
Merci. Madam.
Speaker 7
Thank you very much. Well, we will continue to support you, of course. I think that the European Parliament will not hesitate to put the situation of Afghanistan and Afghan women on its agenda.
We will stay in touch, and we hope you get as much support as possible. You can count on us. We will be at your side in this very legitimate struggle.
Let's close the discussion then on this point. Take a few minutes to invite our next guest up to the podium. Please don't go far, but I think we've got a couple of minutes' break now.
Speaker 1
Colleagues. Please take your seats again. We're going to get started with the next part of our meeting, which is a public hearing on third-country nationals forced to fight in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
I am of course, delighted to chair this item in association with two delegations, the delegation to the EU, Ukraine, and the delegation to the EU, Russia. Committees, and I'd like to welcome the two chairs of these delegations who join me on the podium.
02/24/2026 marked the fourth anniversary of Russia's war of aggression. Military and civilian casualties are accumulating. And all data points to the decline of Russian forces. Given its considerable loss on the battlefield, Russia is looking to replenish its military ranks not only with private militia but also by other means, including the forced enlistment of foreign nationals.
The purpose of this public hearing is to examine this practice of forcing third country nationals to fight in the Russian war of aggression, not just from a military perspective because that does not fall within the scope of committee, but from the perspective of violations of international law and the of human rights. We will be discussing the methods used to coercion, exploitation, and the moral implications related to the conscription of non-Russian individuals, looking at the responsibilities of the Russian Federation and international bodies regarding the protection of civilians, as well as the measures that could be taken by the international community and the EU in particular to prevent this phenomenon.
This issue has received increasing attention from our parliament, as shown by the urgency resolution adopted on this subject last week. We are delighted to have with us today Maria Tomac, a Ukrainian human rights expert who represents the NGO Truth Hounds and who will focus in particular on the forced recruitment of citizens from South Asia, in particular, from Bangladesh.
Will then hear from two speakers related to Kenya. Firstly, the testimony of Miss Bibiana White Tucker. Online. Whose son tragically died on the Russian front after being forcibly conscripted, and then the intervention of madam Rosemary, a Kenyan journalist based in The Hague, a specialist in issues of justice, international crime, and human rights, who has been documenting the experience of African prisoners of war during the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Since 2024. Then finally, we will hear from Mister Andre Dussof, online, who is a spokesperson for the intelligence directorate to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for some data and statistics, as well as an overview of the situation.
After members' questions, we will also hear from the representative of the EEA EEAS.
Mister. Joan Okmat, who is a deputy head of the Russia division. I would like to give the floor, first of all, to the two chairmen of the associated delegations for some introductory remarks.
Okay.
Let me start. Thank you, Chair.
Speaker 21
The colleagues and guests, welcome, and thank you for joining us today for this public hearing. As Mr. Sattori reminded us, we have now entered the fifth war of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and this is the bloodiest war of our intercontinental since World War two.
We know that Russia is using a war of attrition tactics where they have a warfare that causes enormous casualties and especially, capitals also on the Russian side. And we know that they have more and more increasingly used also foreign soldiers to replenish their ranks, duties in almost Casilltois. We know that there is a very strong North Korean military involvement, but also in the last months, numerous governments from African countries especially have complained that there has been increased coercion of many of their nationals into the Russian army.
Last week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the recruitment of non-Russian nationals, in particular from Africa, for Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, and I'm grateful to Mr. Satori and the subcommittee for dedicating an entire hearing to this very concerning matter. Over the past two years, mounting evidence shows a disturbing picture of the bribery and blackmail that Moscow uses to lure foreigners into joining its military.
Once you join, it's also impossible to leave. Many individuals appear to have been recruited through misleading contracts, false promises of employment, or a fast track to citizenship. Often, do not fully understand the nature of their assignment and lack the protection or support networks necessary to challenge these arrangements.
For others, such as migrants already residing in Russia, military enlistment is frequently presented as a pathway to residency or protection from deportation. Transforming bureaucratic precarity into a coerced bargaining chip, which is more or less blackmail.
Let us be clear, these recruitment practices amount to grave human rights violations and are characterized as human trafficking, as Mr. Sattori and our parliament resolution have already stated. This phenomenon reflects a broader pattern within Russia's force effort, the growing need for irregular and conventional sources of manpower as Patanjans are depleted by high casualty rates. This is precisely the warfare that they also ferry. This is simply symptomatic of a military doctrine that treats human beings as a commodity.
So it's in our interest from the European side to raise this issue now properly in this hearing, to better understand how these recruitment processes are taking place, what countries are there, what reasons are being used, and that we denounce a practice, so this practice of human rights, and that we can protect these individuals and these countries from such future action from the Russian side.
So we are honored to welcome the experts, and I would also like to thank all the speakers for their willingness to share their expertise and experiences with us today. Thank you.
Pekka Toveri
Well, thank you, Chair. Thank you, colleagues. Ladies and gentlemen, well, my dear colleague from Finland emptied the table more or less. But I just have to remind that Russia has a long history of using people without regard to what happened to these people and also third country members.
They have used third country citizens as an instrumented tool for immigration precedent in neighboring countries. They are recruiting people to work in the Russian war. War industry is often forced to work using dangerous chemicals without proper draining or without proper protective gear. And now recruiting them falsely with pressure to Russian armed forces.
We know that now that we are in the fifth year of the war, Russian casualties are increasing. Their capability to recruit their own nationals is going down. The prisoners' prisons start to be empty. Now they try to recruit even female prisoners, not very successful there.
Russian government finances don't allow increasing the incentives and recruitment payments anymore. A lot of the regions are already bankrupt, and they can't do it. Therefore, they will tune what's available, and the threats to the third country nationals are increasing, especially since they are increasing the recruitment of third country nationals to their war industry.
Because of lack of workforce, and these people are very vulnerable because when they are, when you are in Russia, you are at the mercy of the Russian authorities. And as my dear colleague mentioned, this is a very serious problem. And we need to cooperate with the third countries who are targeted in this recruitment to prevent this from increasing and happening in the future.
Thank you.
Speaker 7
Thank you. Thank you very much indeed to both of you. I wanna give the floor straight away to Madam Tomac. You have 7 minutes.
Speaker 23
Dear mister chairman, distinguished members of the European Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the opportunity to introduce to you our work. Today, I represent the Truth Hounds, a Ukrainian-based human rights organization, the crimes in Ukraine since 02/14 and beginning of the Russian aggression. We started to research the issue of foreign fighters recruited by Russia back on 02/25. We presume that this tool that Moscow uses to avoid the broad mobilization of its own citizens is mercenarism in essence. However, with more data collected, especially from the interview with the prisoners of war we collected, 16 interviews, our perception shifted.
At least some foreigners are drawn into the war unwillingly and without their acknowledgment. Recently, we have published a report on this topic in partnership with Fortify Rights, and this report covers Bangladesh and the South Asian region.
It is based on 24 interviews including relatives of Bangladesh men who died in the front lines, those recruited, anti trafficking service providers, and police, prisoners of war from Nepal and Sri Lanka held in Ukraine, Ukrainian institutions. We established how men from low-income countries with limited migration pathways are targeted by brokers through fraudulent job offers, misinformation, and scams. Routed through third countries and given Russian-language contracts they cannot read. Several survivors described being sent into combat with little or no training and without knowledge that they were actually going to the front lines. Others were beaten by commanders, denied pay, or prevented from leaving.
Passports were confiscated. Attempts to escape were met with threats. Families in Bangladesh were left in debt after paying recruitment fees of 1,000 US dollars, only to later receive news of a son or a husband killed in the front lines. For example, one Bangladeshi's survival told us that after losing his job in Malaysia, he sought overseas work again to support his family.
And he said, I was repeatedly assured by the Bangladeshi broker that this was not a military work and had nothing to do with the war. However, he was traveling from Dhaka to Dubai and then to Moscow, and he ended up being in the front lines after paying several thousand dollars.
You can find multiple examples of such stories in our report. It's available online on the Truth Hounds website. Some foreigners are recruited from their home countries, some from inside being working migrants or students.
They're attracted by the promise of the high salaries, or being blackmailed by the prison, or facing pressure from the Russian law enforcement. We're talking several thousand people from South Asia, most of them from Nepal or Sri Lanka, at least according to the data of the coordination headquarters for the treatment of the prisoners of war in Ukraine. We provide some figures in our report from this specific region.
However, local journalists and researchers that are dealing with the issue estimate the number to be two or three times higher, both those recruited as well as death toll. While discussing this problem, we'll have to consider the existing human trafficking networks in Nepal and Bangladesh, whilst in Sri Lanka, for instance, the large-scale recruitment of military pensioners appears to be linked to power structures.
In our report, we tried to provide the legal assessment of the recruitment done by Russia. In general, the evidence suggests a recurring pattern in line with the crime of human trafficking, even though not in all of the cases.
As under the Palermo Protocol to which Russia is a party, consent obtained through deception or abuse of vulnerability is legally irrelevant. Of course, not all of the foreigners are drawn into the war through fraud or deception. Some of them are even proudly publishing on social media photos of them wearing the Russian military uniform. However, at this stage, we cannot establish the proportion of each category.
So the legal background of this phenomenon, which is referred to as predator recruitment, is pretty complex. There is an interception of the international humanitarian law as those fighters are combatants because they signed contracts with the Russian army, and they get or are supposed to get the same payment as Russian soldiers.
We have international rights law as some of them, at least, should be considered as human trafficking survivors and victims of exploitation. And international criminal law might still be there, as some of them might be considered mercenaries.
The role of the governments of the home countries of fighters is critical when it comes to combating recruitment. They are the ones who should publicly call out Russia for conducting the predatory recruitment of their citizens as India did, although it was just partly effective. And introduce appropriate domestic regulations as Nepal did by imposing a ban on any working migration to Russia and Ukraine at least temporarily. As in many cases, it is comparatively easy to get a Russian visa.
And Russia will likely remain one of the key destinations for the working migrants, especially if the War In Middle East continues. And all of those people are essentially at risk.
At the same time, the role of media human rights defenders in collecting data and requesting proper from the governments remain critical. Just two weeks ago, in Bangladesh, we met with the representatives of the newly arrived government and leading parliamentary parties. And we remain optimistic about at least the proclaimed willingness of Bangladesh to stop the recruitment.
In our report, we provide a number of recommendations to Russia, to Bangladesh, and international organizations. Clearly, the first priority is to stop recruitment and to withdraw foreigners from the front lines. But we also suggest that Ukraine should screen the cases of the prisoners of war for the signs of human trafficking, and if detected some proper solution should be found. Clearly, this is the global problem.
More can unfold there for Russia means security challenges for Ukraine and the EU respectively. Also, people who served in the Russian army just yesterday might try to come as working migrants to the EU tomorrow, with all the security risks that it might bring.
Therefore, I ask you to transfer the signal as a security to the partner countries in which the recruitment takes place. And those countries that are used to transfer people, mostly, these are the Gulf countries.
Also, to push for the proper investigation on the recruitment network, all those middlemen and agencies, etcetera. To support proper awareness-raising campaigns in the respective countries among those traveling to Russia, be it migrant workers or students.
I thank you.
Speaker 7
Thank you. Thank you very much indeed, madam Tomac. I will now give the floor to Madam Bibiana Waitaka. You also have seven minutes. I hope that the connection is good enough.
Speaker 24
Two. Honorable members, my name is Bipiana Wangari Waithaka. I'm a Kenyan. Mother. I stand before you today as the mother of Charles Waithakawangari, my firstborn son, who died on the Russian-Ukrainian war front.
Charles was not only my son. He was a man who carried hopes of many people who loved him. He was a plant mechanic by profession where he worked for Latuda Construction in Lake. He was a hardworking, ambitious, and a responsible man.
And I keep many young men. He dreamt of building a better future for himself and his family. My son did not travel to Russia to fight a war. Since he did not have any military skills. He was deceived by fake promises of employment.
A Kenyan woman called Elizabeth Widara, who advertised jobs abroad, told my son that he could travel to Russia to work as a pronto. Mechanic. Which was his provision. He told us that her husband and two of her sons were already there. So I had no reason to doubt her.
His visa and travel documents were processed in less than six hours. And he received them on October 1. 2025. His flight was scheduled for the very next day. Our family accompanied Charles to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to say goodbye.
At the airport, the same woman joined us and collected 160,000 Kenya shillings from my son as a commission for arranging the job. After passing the check-in points, Charles sent us a short video from inside the plane. In that video, he said only two words.
By Kenya. Little did he know he was saying goodbye to his country for the last time. Later that evening, he informed me that he had arrived in the Middle East and was being assisted by another Kenyan called Pitawainaina. The next day, he traveled on to Moscow. Where he was received by a Russian agent called Juria.
At first, our communication was normal. He told me how good the country was. And that he had been taken to open a bank account.
But. Very soon, everything changed. My son told me that instead of working as a mechanic, he had been placed in military training. He had not agreed to this. He told me he was forced to sign documents he could not read.
And that he felt trapped. Later, I learned that my son was not at all. Other young men from Kenya and from different African countries had also traveled to Russia, believing they were going for work. Only to fight themselves forced into the military training.
I will never forget the moment he called me and began to crying. He said, Mom, I'm in military training against my will. The training that took 103 weeks before he was sent to the front line.
He told me the money he'd deposited to his bank account was immediately withdrawn by the agent who controlled the account. When he complained, he was threatened. He was told that from that moment on, he was a property of the Russian government.
As a mother, I became desperate to save my son. In my pain, I even made the treble the decision to pretend that I had died, hoping they would allow him to return to Kenya to bury me. But the permission was never granted. My son continued crying in tears, asking for help that I could not offer.
He told me they often survived on very little food. Sometimes very small amounts of canned foods for days. Every day he cried and told me that his chances of survival were very small, almost zero.
One day, he told me something that shocked me deeply. He said, ma'am, you know how I have never smoked. But here, we are doing drugs. We are forced to smoke something that we do not recognize. He also said they were sometimes forced to dance and smile in the videos.
Which was sent back to Africa. So that people would believe they were happy in Russia. In December, our communication began to fail. Charles' birthday was December 25. A few days before his birthday, he sent a photograph of himself. His eyes were swollen.
From crying. He told me, mom, you were happy at sunrise. How would you react at sunset? My birthday is at the sunrise. But by sunset, sunset may come fast. When I asked him what he tried to mean.
He said again, by sunrise, I mean my birthday. By sunset, I mean death. On December 27 at 07:45 in the morning, I received the rest of the signal from my son. He was crying. He kept on repeating mom, today, mom, Ma'am, today. He never finished.
The sentence. After that call, I never heard my son's voice again. I continued sending him messages every day. Good morning. Good afternoon.
Good evening. Good night. There was no response. January 24, 2026, I learned about my son's death from social media. The whole world knew that my son had died, accepting me.
As a family, we were forced to hold a memorial without a burden, because the bodies of those who die on the battlefield are not collected. Today, my son's body lies somewhere far away. A place unknown to me. All I wish is to see his remains one day. So that I can have closure and peace in my heart.
My son died in a war that was not his. And not war for his country. Because of this, I believe there must be cognition and accountability for what happened to him.
No amount of money can replace a child. Nothing can restore the life that has been taken away from us. But recognition and compensation would acknowledge the suffering of families like mine. And help ensure that responsibility is not ignored.
I therefore ask that the families who were greeted under the same circumstances be considered in any compensation or accountability mechanisms related to this work. I stand here not only for my son, Charles, but for all the young men who were deceived. And sent into war, that was not theirs.
Charles was my son. Before he became a statistic of this war. I asked that his life and the rise of others like him are not forgotten. When justice and accountability for these conflicts are discussed.
Thank you.
Speaker 7
Thank you. You. I can't even imagine the pain you must be feeling. Oh, must thank you for your account. We will do everything we can to put an end to these practices on the part of the Russian authorities. We will continue to have these exchanges.
Speaker 26
Dear chair, honorable members, thank you for this opportunity.
Over the past nine months, I have investigated the recruitment of African nationals into Russia's war in Ukraine, interviewing prisoners of war, Africans currently fighting for Russian forces, recruits who escaped and returned, and the families of those who traveled to and never returned. According to the latest available data, Ukrainian officials have identified at least 1,800 African nationals from 36 countries. Mostly in their twenties, fighting in the Russian forces.
Few countries have confirmed the number of their citizens, but Kenya has. A joint intelligence report presented to the Kenyan parliament indicates that roughly 1,000 Kenyans had been recruited. Or lured into these networks as of February 2020. Just yesterday, the cabinet secretary of foreign affairs revised these numbers. He now claims that only 252 Kenyans are in Russia.
From my interviews with the family, the true number of casualties remains unknown. To understand why these recruitment networks find willing candidates, we must look at the economic conditions in the countries where many of the recruits originate.
Across Africa, tens of millions of young people are classified as NEET. Not in education, employment, or training. In just seven African countries, more than 13,000,000 young men of fighting age fall into this category.
The EU is well aware of the drivers of the South-North migration from Africa. In my interviews with African recruits, ideology or political support was not a factor in enlistment. It was the economic opportunity.
Recruitment appeared to follow two main pathways in Kenya. There's a semi-formal labor recruitment channel. Where agencies that normally recruit workers for overseas employment targeted former security personnel. And they ended up recruiting hundreds of Kenyans.
This cohort was generally aware they were enlisting in the Russian military, and in some cases, received basic Russian language training and military style drilling before departure. The second pathway is more deceptive.
Recruits are led by less formalized brokers to believe they are traveling for civilian jobs. We're talking drivers, construction jobs. And then, when they arrive in Russia, they are processed for military service.
Recruits are typically promised 2,000 USD dollars, bonuses, and a prospect of Russian citizenship, far more than the roughly $200 they earn at home. But for recruiters, it's highly lucrative. For every single recruit, you earn a commission of $15,000. If you can mobilize 100 recruits, you end up and generate around $1,500,000.
One of the most troubling findings for us was the fact that a lot of the recruits were recruited not by strangers, but by friends. Neighbors, colleagues, there was an issue of trust, and therefore people did not question the recruitment network. Or rather, the recruiters.
Once in Russia, many recruits described conditions that left them effectively unable to leave. The passports were confiscated upon arrival. The contracts were presented only in Russian, and there was no translation. Many of them said they did not fully understand what they signed. Several of these practices track the basic elements of human trafficking described in the Palermo protocol.
Including recruitment through deception, or the abuse of vulnerability. Now remittances are a key motivation for the African migrant. And even for governments that look the other way. Even when aware of such illegal activities.
Many of the recruits traveled mainly because they believe they could return money home. Send money back home to help their families. In reality, they could not. Russian banks are heavily sanctioned. A fact that was not always disclosed to them.
Go around informal networks were difficult to arrange. Several recruits said they were instructed before they left. That they could actually open bank accounts, because they could send money back home. They did not seem to be aware that swift transfers are blocked.
As one recruit told me, you can see the money in your account. But you can't use it. In many cases, the recruits are required to execute powers of attorney in favor of intermediaries. They hardly know.
There are many reported instances of fraud. In reality, the recruiters have total control over the soldiers' earnings. Once deployed, many recruits reported receiving as little as 10 days of training before being sent to the frontline.
Language barriers added to their vulnerability, as orders were given in Russian. One Egyptian translator who worked with foreign recruits described meeting new arrivals from Cameroon, Iraq, Ghana, China, and Egypt. Many had university degrees. Some were doctors.
He recalled questions. How can I cancel my contract? How can I go back home? His answer, he said, was always the same. Once you sign, it is finished.
The prisoner of war interviews also described the use of untrained Africans. As frontline infantry. Now my interview suggests a shift in deployment patterns. Kenyans who traveled to Russia between July 2023 report being sent to the front lines within days of arrival. Others who went there earlier at least spent 6 weeks or 5 weeks in training.
Ghanaian recruits told me about bribes that they paid to avoid the frontline for months. Dissertation and surrender, I had to pull off. Recruits reported being constantly monitored. I will close with the words of one former Kenyan athlete, currently a prisoner of war in Ukraine.
Ivan Skibet told me even if there are no jobs in Kenya, just stay there. Going to Russia is okay. Going to Russia for military work isn't okay. Your chances of coming back home are slim.
This is not a job. It is a death contract. I thank you.
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