Under international human rights law, everyone has the right to leave their own country, and everyone lawfully in a country has the right to liberty of movement within that country. Restrictions on these rights can only be imposed when provided by law, are for a legitimate purpose, and are a proportionate response to a legitimate government aim.
Taliban authorities have been quoted saying they do not want Afghans to leave the country. They have provided assurances that Afghan citizens with foreign travel authorization will be allowed to depart, however setting this requirement violates the right to freedom of movement.
On August 30 the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution that expressed the expectation that “the Taliban will adhere to their commitments,” and referenced Taliban promises that:
Afghans will be able to travel abroad, may leave Afghanistan anytime they want to, and may exit Afghanistan via any border crossing, both air and ground, including at the reopened and secured Kabul airport, with no one preventing them from traveling, including regarding the safe, secure, and orderly departure from Afghanistan of Afghans and all foreign nationals.
It remains to be seen if the Taliban will adhere to these commitments. Kabul’s international airport is currently unable to operate. Qatar and Turkey are in talks with the Taliban about the management of Kabul airport, which lacks air traffic control services of its own. The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service has resumed operations internationally and some domestic flights are operating, and the media reported that on September 9, a Qatar Airways flight departed from Kabul’s international airport carrying around 200 passengers.
Otherwise, departure from the country is currently largely limited to attempts to cross land borders. Afghanistan’s eastern and southern borders with Pakistan were reopened on August 21. But Pakistani authorities have been reluctant to allow new Afghan refugees to enter, leaving large crowds waiting at the gates. The Pakistani government instead suggested that UNHCR should maintain camps on the Afghan side of the border.
On Iran’s western border with Afghanistan, media reports suggest that the authorities have set up temporary camps to receive Afghans. At least 1,000 Afghans are reported to have entered through the land crossing at Dogharoun, but Iranian officials have said that those who enter the country will be repatriated once conditions improve.
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan lie to Afghanistan’s north. According to media reports, Afghan military pilots seeking asylum flew helicopters and planes into Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Former Afghan government forces crossed a bridge into Uzbek territory that had been used by withdrawing Soviet forces three decades earlier. Uzbek authorities said that they were only offering a temporary transit point for Afghans, not accepting refugees, and have since closed their land border with Afghanistan. Similarly, Tajikistan established a tent camp for Afghans but only on a temporary basis.
