An EU spokesperson said the proposed meeting was being organized at the request of several member states seeking cooperation on deportation procedures for Afghan migrants whose asylum claims have been rejected or who are considered security risks under European law.

No date has been finalized for the talks, the spokesperson said, stressing that the meeting would not constitute formal diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government.

Western governments have largely avoided official engagement with the Taliban since the Islamist movement seized control of Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces and the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan administration.

Despite the lack of formal recognition, European officials have gradually expanded technical contacts with Taliban authorities on issues including migration, humanitarian assistance and airport operations.

The EU spokesperson said officials from the bloc had already traveled to Kabul in January for preliminary discussions and were now considering a follow-up technical meeting in Brussels with what the EU described as Afghanistan’s “de facto authorities.”

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have sought asylum across Europe since the Taliban takeover, creating political pressure on European governments facing rising anti-immigration sentiment and strained asylum systems.

European countries have struggled to deport Afghan nationals because diplomatic relations with Kabul remain limited and there are few formal mechanisms for coordinating returns.

The spokesperson said Sweden was assisting in coordinating the planned discussions. Swedish authorities did not immediately comment on the initiative.

The move highlights the increasingly pragmatic approach adopted by some European governments toward the Taliban administration, despite continuing concerns over human rights restrictions, particularly those affecting women and girls in Afghanistan.

Judge Dale E. Ho of the Southern District of New York issued an emergency order extending protections that were due to expire on Monday, allowing Yemeni nationals to remain in the United States while a broader legal challenge proceeds.

TPS allows foreign nationals from countries facing war, natural disasters or extraordinary conditions to stay in the United States temporarily, shielding them from deportation and granting work and travel authorization.In his 36-page ruling, Ho said Congress had established a clear legal framework for altering or rescinding TPS protections and criticized former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for failing to follow that process.

He also sharply rebuked comments Noem made in December on social media after meeting President Donald Trump, in which she called for a travel ban on countries she said were “flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”“TPS holders from Yemen are not ‘killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,’” Ho wrote at the beginning of his conclusion, arguing that such rhetoric undermined the humanitarian intent of the law.

The judge cited individual cases including a pregnant woman in Detroit whose unborn child has a congenital heart condition not treatable in Yemen, and a former human rights worker in Brooklyn who said he remained a target of Houthi-aligned militias if returned.Before the ruling, protections for Yemeni refugees were set to end Monday, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Government figures show 2,810 Yemenis currently hold TPS status, while another 425 have pending applications.The Department of Homeland Security defended the administration’s position, saying TPS was always intended to be temporary and that Secretary Noem had reviewed conditions in Yemen and consulted relevant agencies before determining the country no longer met the legal standard for protected status.

“Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from activist judges legislating from the bench,” the department said in a statement, adding that allowing Yemeni beneficiaries to remain was “contrary to our national interest.”The Trump administration has moved to terminate TPS protections for nationals from nine countries as part of its broader immigration crackdown, including Haiti, Venezuela and Ethiopia.

Rights advocates welcomed the ruling. Razeen Zaman, director of immigrant rights at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said the decision made clear that humanitarian protections should not be transformed into “a deportation pipeline.”Yemen was first designated for TPS in 2015, roughly a year after civil war broke out in the country.

The Obama and Biden administrations repeatedly renewed the designation as fighting, displacement and humanitarian conditions worsened.In 2024, U.S. officials estimated that 2,300 Yemenis were eligible to renew protected status and another 1,700 were newly eligible under the program.

Judge Ho also pointed to recent federal court rulings that allowed migrants from other conflict-hit countries to remain in the United States, signaling broader judicial scrutiny of efforts to narrow humanitarian protections through executive action.

The Afghans, housed at Camp As Sayliyah on the outskirts of Doha, say returning to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan would expose them to reprisals because of their past work with U.S. and allied forces, while resettlement options remain limited after President Donald Trump’s administration suspended Afghan immigration cases and paused refugee admissions.

“We are all living in extreme anxiety. We feel that we are in limbo,” said Rasouly, a former interpreter for U.S. forces who has spent 19 months at the camp with his family.Camp As Sayliyah, once used by the U.S. military, has served as a transit and processing center for Afghan evacuees since the chaotic U.S. withdrawal in August 2021.

Many of those still there had expected eventual resettlement in the United States under refugee or special immigration pathways.That process stalled after Trump paused refugee admissions in January 2025 and later suspended Afghan immigration cases in November, leaving hundreds of families in prolonged legal and humanitarian uncertainty.

Advocacy group AfghanEvac said the U.S. administration is considering requiring residents to choose between returning to Afghanistan or relocating to countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, a proposal first reported by U.S. media and later confirmed by campaigners as under review.In an open letter shared by AfghanEvac, camp residents rejected the possibility of relocation to Congo, citing both security concerns and trauma from years of conflict.

“We have been in enough war. We cannot take our children into another one,” the letter said. “We also cannot return to Afghanistan. The Taliban will kill many of us for what we did for the United States.”The U.S. State Department has not confirmed Congo as a destination but said relocation to a third country could provide safety and an opportunity to rebuild lives. Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have not commented publicly on the reports.

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry, responding to the reports, said Afghan nationals abroad could return in “confidence and peace of mind,” rejecting concerns over retaliation.However, the United Nations has documented arbitrary arrests, detentions and cases of torture involving former Afghan officials and security personnel who returned to Afghanistan, raising concerns among rights groups over the safety of returnees.

Residents at the camp said they have received little formal communication and rely largely on rumors about resettlement plans or possible camp closure.“Different rumors have circulated,” said Mahmoud, 38, who worked with U.S. and international forces and has lived at the camp for more than a year. “Rumours such as sending people to the Democratic Republic of the Congo are being spread to increase psychological pressure.

”Many families live in cramped, windowless containers and are generally unable to leave except for serious medical emergencies, residents said.The insecurity deepened during Iranian missile attacks targeting U.S. bases in the Gulf earlier this year, when explosions and interceptions were visible from the camp despite the base no longer being operational.

“It reminded us of Afghanistan,” said Shabnam, who arrived at the camp in January 2025 with her young son after her father’s work with U.S. and allied forces in western Afghanistan. “Many of us came here to escape conflict. It felt like we were reliving those same fears.”The State Department confirmed in February that Washington had offered financial assistance for voluntary return to Afghanistan.

AfghanEvac and camp residents said the package included $4,500 for each main applicant and $1,200 per dependent.Around 150 people have accepted the payments and returned, according to U.S. officials.For others, the offer does little to ease fears.“Security is not something that can be negotiated,” Rasouly said. “If they pay me $50,000 for me and my family, I cannot go to Afghanistan because my life is in danger.”

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, nearly 900 Rohingya were reported dead or missing last year during dangerous sea crossings in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal the highest toll on record for the crisis.

More than 6,500 Rohingya attempted the journeys in 2025, with over one in seven perishing, making it the deadliest maritime route globally for refugees and migrants, the agency said.

Despite the risks, departures have continued into 2026, with more than 2,800 Rohingya already embarking on similar voyages by mid-April, often aiming to reach Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand.

The surge in fatalities reflects a combination of factors, including ongoing violence in Myanmar, deteriorating conditions in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, and declining international aid. The UNHCR said its $200 million appeal for Rohingya support in 2026 remains significantly underfunded.

Recent incidents underscore the dangers. Earlier this month, about 250 people were reported missing after a boat carrying Rohingya capsized in the Andaman Sea, one of several deadly accidents linked to overcrowded vessels and rough conditions.

Overall, more than 1.3 million Rohingya remain displaced across the region, most of them in Bangladesh, where limited resources and uncertain futures continue to drive risky migration attempts.