This brief from leading expert on Afghanistan, Professor William Maley of the Australian National University highlights why Afghanistan remains unsafe for Hazaras:
The overarching development that has made it extraordinarily unsafe to return members of the Hazara ethnic minority to Afghanistan was the fall of the Afghan government to forces of the extremist Taliban movement on 15 August 2021… The Taliban have been involved in further massacres of Hazaras, prompting the Secretary-General of Amnesty International to warn that ‘These targeted killings are proof that ethnic and religious minorities remain at particular risk under Taliban rule in Afghanistan’… With the Taliban asserting a right to control the whole country, and in the light of the successful military campaign that brought them to Kabul, there is now nowhere in Afghanistan that can be considered safe for Hazaras.
Read the full brief below.
Emeritus Professor William Maley was Professor of Diplomacy at Australian National University from 2003 to 2021 and the foundation director of the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy (2003-14). He has published extensively on Afghan politics for over three decades. Professor Maley is also Vice President of the Refugee Council of Australia.
