The SPD’s Migration and Diversity working group has criticized the Federal Government’s Afghanistan policy. In an internal letter, which the newspaper Spiegel has reported on, chairpersons Mehria Ashuftah and Orkan Özdemir called upon the SPD leadership to correct its approach.
This criticism comes amid a series of concerning developments regarding German policy toward Afghanistan. Last year, the federal government withdrew its offers of acceptance for vulnerable Afghans. However, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled at the end of July that a blanket revocation of these offers was unlawful. More recently, it was announced that an Afghan citizen, who was not a convicted criminal, had been deported for the first time since the Taliban took power.
The group states that these recent events signal “a significant change in the state’s behavior towards Afghanistan.” They argue that both the expansion of deportations to Afghanistan-particularly against non-convicted individuals-and the withdrawal of acceptance promises require urgent reevaluation.
The incident raises questions about the SPD’s own credibility. The party was asked whether its governing responsibility requires it to “close its eyes to injustice or, particularly under difficult political conditions, to adhere to the principles of the rule of law.” The working group asserted that it is the party’s duty to “self-critically review its handling of Afghanistan and adjust where there are legal or political doubts.” Only in this way can the SPD uphold its “own standards of the rule of law.”
