A German court has ruled that deportation orders are valid even if migrants are unable to secure a sustainable livelihood in the long term after returning to their county of origin.
The ruling comes after a court case involving an Afghan migrant who failed to be given asylum in Germany but was banned from being deported by a court in Mannheim, which argued he would not be able to make a living in his home country due to the economic conditions in Afghanistan.
This week, a Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig essentially overturned the ban, arguing that under the European Convention of Human Rights it was not the responsibility of Germany to ensure the migrant had a sustainable livelihood in the long-term, EU-funded website InfoMigrants reports.
“If a foreigner who is obliged to leave the country is able to take advantage of assistance that will prevent him or her from becoming destitute within a foreseeable period of time, a deportation order can only be waived as an exception if the person concerned is threatened with facing destitution soon (upon return) and with a high degree of probability upon using up the return assistance,” the court ruled.
However, since the original court ruling took place prior to the Taliban taking over Kabul in August of last year, the court has decided to have the court in Mannheim rule upon the original case again, due to the changes in the country since.
Last August, some Western countries, such as Sweden, halted all deportations to Afghanistan as the Taliban took over the country, but Germany and other nations criticised this, noting that it would lead to more Afghans attempting to reach Europe illegally.
Germany and the Netherlands later made a U-turn on the issue and suspended Afghan deportations as well.