The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development confirmed to German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) last week that four local Afghan employees of the German government aid organization Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) office in Afghanistan have been arrested by the Taliban-backed Afghan government.

According to a confidential EU security report obtained by WDR on Thursday, one employee, detained in early November, was arrested and is still being held in custody. Ten days later, two other Afghan employees of GIZ were arrested at Kabul International Airport attempting to travel to Dubai. The two employees detained at the airport are also alleged to still be in custody, along with their cellphones and laptops. WDR claims that it verified on-the-ground information that a fourth employee was arrested. All four employees are alleged to have worked in risk management for GIZ and have been accused by the Taliban of espionage. The arrests come less than a month after another wave of four arrests of GIZ employees in October, who have all since been released according to WDR.

In a statement to the Associated Press (AP), a Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development spokesperson wrote:

I can confirm that the local employees of GIZ are in custody although we have not received any official information on why they are detained. We are taking this situation very seriously and are working through all channels available to us to ensure that our colleagues are released.

The security of local staff for German aid organizations has been a continuing concern since the US pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, leading to the Taliban takeover of the Afghan government. GIZ released a statement in January 2022 that it was continuing to attempt to evacuate local staff and their families, claiming that GIZ provided for the evacuation of 5,000 Afghans. However, concerns have been raised as to how effective the German government’s response has been, leading Germany’s legislature, the Bundestag, to establish the 1st Committee of Inquiry (Afghanistan) and the Study Commission on Afghanistan to investigate the German government’s response to the Taliban takeover for both German- and locally-employed staff of German governmental organizations. Both committees have yet to publish their conclusions. While GIZ has remained open, other German government agencies in Afghanistan, including the German Embassy, have closed. The closure of the German Embassy creates a large obstacle for German aid organization employees, as they may need to travel outside the country to apply for German visas.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights bars the arbitrary detention of civilians, including civilian aid workers. Both Afghanistan and Germany are signatories. Article 71(2) of Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions also grants special protections to aid workers in times of conflict, stating that “Where necessary, relief personnel may form part of the assistance provided in any relief action … such personnel shall be respected and protected.” Aid workers are also protected under Article 8(2)(b)(iii) of the Rome Statute, which has also been ratified by both Germany and Afghanistan.

Human rights have been deteriorating in Afghanistan since the end of the US-Afghan War, according to the UN and multiple human rights groups. Women have been banned from practicing law, attending university and riding public transportation without a male chaperone. Additionally, rates of poverty, deaths by IEDs, drug trafficking and deaths by suicide have skyrocketed, as the economy has collapsed under the weight of Taliban rule and global sanctions, according to UN experts.