Four years after the Taliban seized power, the humanitarian and human rights situation in Afghanistan is catastrophic. Millions of children suffer from hunger, exploitation, and a lack of education. Those who have fought for freedom and democracy live in constant danger. Women and girls are systematically deprived of their rights.
"After the withdrawal of international troops, the Afghan population was promised protection and support. Today, however, we are seeing that these promises have hardly been fulfilled – Afghanistan is being abandoned," explains Joshua Hofert, board member of terre des hommes . "The massive decline in international aid is further exacerbating the hardship for children and families. Our aid projects are also increasingly lacking resources. The situation has become life-threatening for many children and families."
According to UNICEF, more than 3.5 million children under the age of five in Afghanistan are acutely malnourished—900,000 of them so severely that their lives are in danger. Many parents see no other option than to send their children to work or marry them off early so they can survive.
The situation is further exacerbated by mass deportations: According to the UNHCR, in 2025, approximately 2.1 million Afghans had already returned from Iran and Pakistan or been deported to Afghanistan. The already inadequate structures for receiving returnees are now completely overwhelmed. In many places, the supply of food, drinking water, and medical assistance, as well as the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and other dangers, are not guaranteed.
The situation is particularly dangerous for Afghan human rights activists and former local staff of German organizations. Some of them have received a promise of admission to Germany. Relying on this promise, many of them sold their belongings and left the country for Pakistan. However, the German government has currently suspended admissions. Since then, around 2,300 people – mostly women and children – have been trapped in Pakistan despite Germany's promise to admit them. If they are not brought to Germany quickly, they face deportation back to Afghanistan, where they face torture, ill-treatment, and other serious human rights violations, as a recently published UN report confirms.
"The federal government must keep its promises to accept refugees – anything else would be a breach of promise with dramatic consequences for those affected. Thousands of people are at acute risk, including former employees of Terre des Hommes projects who have campaigned for children's and women's rights. Otherwise, they will lose their last hope of protection," explains Joshua Hofert.