Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated that the United Nations member states failing to take effective action against widespread human rights violations in Afghanistan, four years after the Taliban returned to power.
In a report released ahead of the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, HRW warned that the group has intensified its repression of women and girls and continues to commit grave abuses with impunity. The report, titled “Afghanistan: Relentless Repression Four Years into Taliban Rule”, outlines a deteriorating human rights and humanitarian crisis.
“The fourth anniversary of the Taliban takeover is a grim reminder of the gravity of the Taliban’s abuses, particularly against women and girls,” said Fereshta Abbasi, HRW’s Afghanistan researcher. “The Taliban’s abhorrent acts should compel governments to support efforts to hold the Taliban leadership and all those responsible for serious crimes in Afghanistan to account.”
The report highlights the Taliban’s sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including bans on education, employment, participation in public life, and freedom of movement. HRW said these policies have also obstructed access to humanitarian aid and essential healthcare services.
HRW criticised the international community, particularly UN member states, for inaction. It recalled that in September 2024, a coalition of Afghan and international human rights groups urged the UN Human Rights Council to establish an independent international accountability mechanism for Afghanistan. Despite these calls, no such mechanism has been implemented.
The rights organisation is now urging the European Union to include in its upcoming annual resolution to the Human Rights Council a proposal for the creation of a comprehensive accountability mechanism for Afghanistan.
The report also underscores the worsening humanitarian situation. HRW described Afghanistan as facing one of the “world’s worst humanitarian crises,” exacerbated by cuts in donor funding and the mass deportation of Afghan migrants from neighbouring countries. Iran and Pakistan have expelled approximately two million Afghans in recent months, placing additional pressure on fragile aid operations.
HRW warned that reductions and suspensions in international aid, particularly from the United States, are having catastrophic consequences, especially for women and girls. The group noted a rise in malnutrition among children and the decline of online education programmes for women and girls, which had become a critical resource amid Taliban-imposed restrictions.
