Strengthening Rainbow Afghanistan’s Emergency Response Capacity to Support LGBTQI+ Individuals in Crisis

At a time when the LGBTQI+ community in Afghanistan is facing one of the most severe and systematic forms of repression worldwide—including extrajudicial arrests, torture, public executions carried out by the Taliban, structural discrimination, direct threats to life, forced eviction from places of residence, and the risk of forced return in neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Iran, and Türkiye—Rainbow Afghanistan, recognizing the urgency of this situation, organized a three-day specialized workshop.

The workshop was held from 16 to 18 December 2025 in a hybrid format (in-person and online). Members of Rainbow Afghanistan, along with Afghan LGBTQI+ and human rights activists from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Türkiye, participated online. In addition, a number of organizational members attended the workshop in person in Berlin.

Key Objectives of the Workshop

This program was designed and implemented with a queer-centered emergency response approach grounded in the lived realities of the Afghan LGBTQI+ community. Its primary objectives included:

• Enhancing the capacity of organizational staff and volunteers to respond to LGBTQI+-related crises in a professional, ethical, and safe manner
• Designing, developing, and operationalizing a comprehensive and structured Emergency Protocol for managing emergency situations
• Creating and further developing a secure digital tool for the documentation, analysis, and management of crisis-related data, with the aim of enabling strategic decision-making and effective reporting to international institutions and human rights partners

Training Focus Areas and Specialized Content

The training content of this workshop was developed based on the real and pressing needs of the Afghan LGBTQI+ community and LGBTQI+ Afghan refugees in the region. It covered the following areas:

• Principles and stages of crisis management within the context of the Afghan LGBTQI+ community
• Psychological First Aid for queer individuals in high-risk situations, including arrest, torture, domestic violence, direct threats to life, and emergency flight
• Risk assessment, life-critical decision-making, and the management of sensitive cases involving Afghan LGBTQI+ individuals in neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Iran, and Türkiye

In-Person Venue

Marchlewskistraße 27, 10243

Berlin, Germany

This workshop represents a key step in strengthening the institutional capacity of Rainbow Afghanistan to respond effectively, rapidly, and safely to the escalating crises faced by the Afghan LGBTQI+ community. Beyond enhancing the practical skills and knowledge of organizational members and activists, the program also established essential foundations for professional emergency response, secure documentation, and effective engagement with international institutions.

Rainbow Afghanistan remains committed to continuing its rights-based, informed, and sustainable support for the Afghan LGBTQI+ community—both within Afghanistan and along migration pathways—through initiatives such as this.