Four local Afghan employees working for the German government aid organization, Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), have been arrested by the Taliban-controlled Afghan government as per a confirmation made by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). This recent development is a sign of the increasing challenges that international aid organizations face in Afghanistan under its new regime.
The Ministry was informed about the arrests through a confidential EU security report that WDR managed to obtain. One out of the four arrested employees had been detained since the beginning of November, and his current status remains undisclosed. The other two employees were arrested while they were trying to leave the country from Kabul International Airport and are still in custody, along with their cellphones and laptops. WDR has confirmed the arrest of the fourth employee, who also worked in risk management. It is noteworthy that these individuals have been accused of espionage by the Taliban. Intriguingly, only a month ago, another four employees of GIZ were arrested, but they were then let free as confirmed by WDR.
Ever since the US withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, which resulted in the Taliban taking over the Afghan government, there has been growing concern regarding the safety of local staff working for German aid organizations in the country. As per a statement GIZ released in January 2022, efforts to evacuate local staff and their families have been ongoing, with the organization claiming to have assisted the evacuation of 5,000 Afghans. However, concerns about the effectiveness of the German government’s response have sparked criticism and have resulted in steps taken by the Bundestag, Germany’s legislature, to investigate the response to the Taliban takeover.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which both Afghanistan and Germany have signed, prohibits the arbitrary detention of civilians including aid workers. They are also shielded under Article 71(2) of Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions and Article 8(2)(b)(iii) of the Rome Statute. However, the current situation showcases a blatant disregard for these statutes.
Human rights have witnessed a serious decline in Afghanistan post the end of the US-Afghan War as per United Nations and several human rights groups’ reports. Women in particular have been heavily impacted, being banned from attending universities, practicing law, and moving around without a male chaperone. The economic scenario of the country has also suffered massively, with a sharp rise in poverty, drug trafficking, deaths by IEDs and suicides caused by the new regime’s rule and the imposition of global sanctions.