The signatories of the joint statement call for the EU and European governments to continue evacuation flights for as long as possible. The resettlement quotas should be increased to ensure international protection for researchers, scholars and civil society actors in need of it, and expedited complementary legal pathways should be created for candidates who have a host institution, job or sponsor.
The signatories also highlight the need to establish an EU fellowship scheme for researchers and scholars at risk, including scholars and students from Afghanistan, to undertake fellowships, researcher positions or temporary academic positions at European higher education institutions.
The EU’s and European governments’ urgent intervention is crucial to mitigate the worst of the threats the scholars, researchers, and civil society actors are now facing in Afghanistan.
23 August 2021