Brussels, 15/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - On the initiative of French MEP Hélène Flautre (Greens/EFA) around 4 MEPs have called on member states to end any planned forced returns to Afghanistan. The MEPs believe that the call for the suspension of all returns is a matter of humanitarian rights and the safety of the persons involved. “One cannot but notice that France and Great Britain are looking to persist in joint expulsion operations,” the MEPs say in their joint appeal. Nine Afghans held in Calais-Coquelles and two held in Lille have been informed of their return to Afghanistan on Tuesday 15 December. “We call for the cessation of these expulsions which violate the principle of non-refoulement, as guaranteed by the ECHR and the Geneva Convention. We affirm the urgent need to suspend any forced return to Afghanistan, and to make effective the right to protection in Europe,” they go on to say. (B.C./transl.rt)