The US State Department’s 2024 annual report on Afghanistan has documented extensive human rights abuses by the Taliban, including severe restrictions on women, press freedom, arbitrary detentions, suppression of civil liberties.
In the report, released Tuesday, the State Department said respect for the rights of women and girls had sharply declined over the past year. It stressed that the Taliban’s “morality” law imposes sweeping limits on the personal lives of all Afghans, particularly women and girls.
The report also cites extrajudicial and unlawful killings, stating that the Taliban and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) have carried out multiple targeted killings. Reliable information indicates that Taliban security forces arbitrarily killed civilians in Panjshir, Kunduz, Kabul, Nimruz, Ghazni, Khost, Jowzjan, Faryab, Takhar, Sar-e Pul and Herat provinces.
According to the State Department, these killings occurred in areas where the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan operates, with some victims being former military personnel and government employees. The Taliban, it said, have neither acknowledged responsibility for such killings nor established accountability mechanisms.
On press freedom, the report said the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on the media, threatening, arresting and abusing journalists. More than 180 violations of press freedom were recorded over the past year, alongside widespread censorship and restrictions on internet access.
The report also documents the use of torture and corporal punishment, noting that the Taliban have conducted public lashings, beatings and executions without due process. Citing UNAMA figures, it said that in 2023 more than 360 instances of corporal punishment were recorded, affecting both men and women.
Contrary to official statements, the Taliban have recruited and trained children for their armed forces. In 2023, more than 340 children were used, some in combat roles and others in support positions. In Badakhshan province, about 30 boys aged 10 to 18 were reportedly undergoing training at a military facility.
The report further highlights arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, with detainees often denied access to lawyers, family contact and judicial proceedings. Women’s rights activists, journalists and critics of the Taliban are among those most affected.
On refugee protection, it said the Taliban have provided only limited assistance to returnees while creating obstacles for international organisations working to register and support internally displaced persons. Taliban morality police have reportedly been stationed at border crossings to enforce strict rules on returnees.
The State Department concluded that the Taliban show no commitment to respecting international human rights law and frequently disregard existing laws. It called on the international community to closely monitor the situation in Afghanistan and take effective action to protect the rights of its people, particularly women and children.
