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UN Human Rights Spokesperson Shabia Mantoo on involuntary returns to Afghanistan
“Afghan women children and men, continue to be pushed out of countries where they had sought safety, forcing them to return to Afghanistan against their will and exposing them to grave risk,” the UN Human Rights spokesperson said.
Since the beginning of the year, almost 270,000 Afghans have been deported to Afghanistan, mainly from Iran and Pakistan, according to UNHCR. Fewer numbers have also been reported from Türkiye and Tajikistan. These are in addition to the more than 1.2 million Afghans deported from Iran and 150,000 from Pakistan last year.
Last year's report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), entitled No Safe Haven, found that a number of Afghans involuntarily returned to Afghanistan experienced a range of serious human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the de facto authorities.
“Women and girls, individuals affiliated with the former government and its security forces, media workers, civil society, and members of the LGBTIQ+ community, are among those who remain at grave risk of reprisals and human rights violations and abuses,”
“Returning individuals at serious risk of human rights violations involuntarily to Afghanistan runs contrary to the core international law principle of non-refoulement. I urge States to abide by their international legal obligations and protect Afghans by not taking any action that exposes them to irreparable harm upon return,” she said.
Proposed new EU rules on returns, which are currently under consideration, are also concerning. They could weaken human rights safeguards and expose people to harm.
“As several EU Member States call for a more coordinated approach to returns of Afghan nationals, we are also alarmed at mounting reports that some countries in Europe are now resuming or considering deportations - despite the very severe human rights situation in Afghanistan,” Mantoo said.
“The High Commissioner strongly caution against all involuntary returns to Afghanistan in the absence of individualized risk assessments, these are required by and must be carried out in accordance with international human rights and refugee law,” the spokesperson said.
Apart from the very serious human rights situation, the country faces a precarious humanitarian situation and cross-border insecurity, particularly since October 2025. The last quarter saw the highest rates of civilian casualties documented since the Taliban takeover as a result of the escalation of hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva:
Ravina Shamdasani: ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Shabia Mantoo: shabia.mantoo@un.org
Marta Hurtado : marta.hurtadogomez@un.org
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STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Shabia Mantoo on involuntary returns to Afghanistan
TRT: 01:49
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 22 May 2026 – Geneva, Switzerland
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shots: Various Palais des Nations
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “Afghan women children and men, continue to be pushed out of countries where they had sought safety, forcing them to return to Afghanistan against their will and exposing them to grave risk.”
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “Women and girls, individuals affiliated with the former government and its security forces, media workers, civil society, and members of the LGBTIQ+ community, are among those who remain at grave risk of reprisals and human rights violations and abuses.”
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “Returning individuals at serious risk of human rights violations involuntarily to Afghanistan runs contrary to the core international law principle of non-refoulement. We urge States to abide by their international legal obligations and protect Afghans by not taking any action that exposes them to irreparable harm upon return.”
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “As several EU Member States call for a more coordinated approach to returns of Afghan nationals, we are also alarmed at mounting reports that some countries in Europe are now resuming or considering deportations - despite the very severe human rights situation in Afghanistan.”
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk strongly cautions against all involuntary returns to Afghanistan in the absence of individualised risk assessments, these are required by and must be carried out in accordance with international human rights and refugee law.”
- Interior shots: Briefing room
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
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- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
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Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends