The CALL ruled on an application of an Afghan national for the first time since the Taliban took power.

The case concerned an Afghan applicant, who has been living in Belgium for 3.5 years and applied for the fourth time for asylum in July 2021. The CGRS rejected his application as inadmissible in the beginning of August 2021.

The CALL found that due to the fundamental changes in the situation in Afghanistan, the applicant should be given the opportunity to present all relevant individual element, which may reveal a need for international protection.

The CALL underlined that for the assessment, the applicant's profile, as a returnee from the West, must be especially analysed. Based on diverse reports, the court noted that the precarious socio-economic and humanitarian situation currently prevailing in Afghanistan can be mainly attributed to the behavior of the Taliban. If the humanitarian situation reaches such a level as established by the ECtHR in the Sufi and Elmi judgement, and it can be attributed to the action of (state) actors, subsidiary protection could be given based on the national provision implementing QD, Article 15(b).

The court also noted, that the current situation does not seem to establish the need to grant subsidiary protection within the meaning of QD, Article 15(c), but underlined that the situation remains unstable and changes in the dynamics of the conflict are very recent. It assessed that the situation in Afghanistan does not allow to make a correct and forward-looking assessment. In addition, the ACLED data (Armed Conflict Location -Event Data Project) for the period 16 August 2021-15 November 2021 indicate some regional differences.

The court consulted the EASO Country Guidance Note: Afghanistan December 2020.