DRC along with the European and global academic community strongly ask European governments and EU institutions to protect and secure the lives of scholars, students, and civil society of Afghanistan.
They urge the EU to:
- Keep the flights to the country in order to evacuate all the people who wish to leave the place;
- Increase resettlement quotas;
- Create legal pathways for those who demonstrate an existing host institution, job, or sponsor, including for families, that would facilitate their arrival and earliest adjustment;
- Avoid any intent-to-return and home residency requirements that may apply to visa applications for Afghan scholars and researchers for the foreseeable future;
- Create a dedicated EU fellowship scheme for researchers and scholars under threat from Afghanistan, especially women and ethnic minorities;
- Establish dedicated national fellowships for researchers and scholars at risk, including scholars, students, and civil society actors from Afghanistan.
The moral leadership of the European Union and its commitment to human rights are required now more than ever before, due to the sad and dangerous situation that is continuing in Afghanistan and that threatens to destroy its future. If we move immediatly and act quickly enough, we can still mitigate the situation to achieve the best way out of it for the country, only by doing so we can demonstrate the true value of our commitment to the principles of democracy, rule-of-law and multilateralism.
