Executive Summary

Study background and objectives

Afghans are currently amongst the top nationalities for asylum applications globally (UNHCR, 2019a). Driven by decades-long ongoing conflict and insecurity, large-scale migratory trends are not new; Afghanistan has traditionally been considered an ‘emigration country’ (Weinar, 2014). Given the scale of the Afghan diaspora, migration stakeholders are increasingly interesting in engaging the diaspora due to the importance of diaspora networks in providing information and support to new arrivals, the importance of remittances in economic development, and the two-way transfer of knowledge and skills between destination and country of origin. In this context, the Danish Refugee Council’s Diaspora Programme (DRC-DP) has commissioned the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (MGSoG) /United Nations University-MERIT in the Netherlands to conduct a study of Afghan diaspora and diaspora organizations in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. This study has the specific objectives of mapping Afghan Disapora Organizations (ADOs), providing a capacity and needs assessment of the ADOs, and developing recommendations for further ADOs engagement. This report is based on 4 ADO consultation meetings and 103 interviews conducted with Afghan diaspora (individuals and members of ADOs), and other relevant stakeholders, in addition to a desk-based literature review and mapping exercise.