Declaring at least parts of Afghanistan safe enough, a 2016 deal between the European Union and the Afghan government allowed European countries to forcibly repatriate Afghans whose appeals for asylum were repeatedly denied. But in 2017 the United Nations reclassified Afghanistan from a “post-conflict” country to an “active conflict” one. And guidelines published Aug. 30 by the UN’s refugee agency said indiscriminate attacks in Kabul would expose returnees to “serious risk to life, safety, liberty or health.” According to a leaked EU memo, even back in 2016 European countries were “aware of the worsening security situation and threats to which people are exposed” in Afghanistan. Under the deal, more than 1,000 Afghans have been sent back to Kabul. “There is of course a great irony in these [European] governments, who won’t come out of their embassies in Kabul, and when they do they are in armored cars wearing full body armor, saying it’s safe for people to be returned,” says Patricia Gossman, Afghanistan associate director for Human Rights Watch. “We think, because of the deteriorating security situation, they shouldn’t [repatriate Afghans]…. It is not a good idea right now.”