Second meeting of the Joint Working Group established to facilitate the implementation of the Joint Way Forward on migration issues

On 27 March 2017 in Brussels, representatives of the European Union, the EU Member States and Afghanistan held the second meeting of the Joint Working Group established to facilitate the implementation of the Joint Way Forward on migration issues.

The parties agreed on the need to work together on information awareness raising campaigns, to reframe the discourse, to counter the narrative of people smugglers and traffickers and to direct prospective migrants to official sources of information, e.g. websites, providing accurate and updated information on EU asylum, migration and return policy as well as development cooperation projects in Afghanistan. The fight against smuggling and trafficking in human beings was another subject of discussion.

During the meeting, the parties also reiterated the common aim to ensure a safe, manageable, predictable and dignified return process of the Afghan irregular migrants in the European Union, who have no right to stay in the EU.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: European Union and Afghanistan sign Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development http://www.europeansources.info/record/european-union-and-afghanistan-sign-cooperation-agreement-on-partnership-and-development/

EU: EEAS: Fact Sheet, 17.02.17: EU-Afghanistan relations https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/10740/

ESO: Background information:Afghanistan: Challenges and Perspectives until 2020 http://www.europeansources.info/record/afghanistan-challenges-and-perspectives-until-2020/

EU: EEAS: Afghanistan and the EU https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/18/afghanistan-and-eu_en

ESO: Background information: Eternally displaced: Afghanistan’s refugee crisis and what it means for Europe http://www.europeansources.info/record/eternally-displaced-afghanistans-refugee-crisis-and-what-it-means-for-europe/

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