The United Arab Emirates has stressed the importance of protecting the rights of Afghan citizens, particularly women and girls, and called for their access to education, employment and equal participation in society.
Ghasaq Shaheen, the UAE’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, met with Georgette Gagnon, acting head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), on June 5.
In a post on X, the UAE Mission to the United Nations said the two sides discussed recent developments in Afghanistan and the role of UNAMA in supporting peace and stability in the country.
The diplomatic consultations come ahead of two key UN events concerning Afghanistan. The UN Security Council is expected to review the extension of UNAMA’s mandate, with a meeting anticipated on June 17.
UNAMA is also scheduled to present a report on Afghanistan on Monday, June 7.
The United Arab Emirates has previously expressed concern about the human rights situation in Afghanistan. During a session of the UN Human Rights Council, the UAE called for the protection of the rights of Afghan women and girls.
Over the past several years, the UAE has maintained contact with Afghan women. In July last year, a number of Afghan women’s rights activists met with UAE officials and urged Abu Dhabi to support efforts to protect women’s rights in Afghanistan.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan says his office has verified cases of sexual violence allegedly committed by Taliban officials, primarily in detention centres. Victims interviewed included women and girls, as well as men and boys.
The remarks come after the UN Security Council recently reported allegations of sexual violence committed by Taliban officials and members of the group’s security forces against women.
According to the report, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented 21 cases of sexual violence in 2025, including gang rape involving 15 women and six girls.
Speaking to Afghanistan International on Thursday, June 4, Richard Bennett said the UN secretary-general’s report reflects only a small part of a much broader and severely underreported reality of sexual violence in Afghanistan.
He stressed that such abuses remain significantly underreported for a variety of reasons, including social stigma and cultural attitudes that often blame or even punish victims rather than perpetrators.
Bennett said public reporting of sexual violence is further restricted by safety and security concerns. According to him, Taliban authorities have warned victims not to speak publicly about their experiences or cooperate with human rights investigators.
He explained that, under the principle of “do no harm”, his office approaches information gathering with extreme caution and generally conducts interviews only when victims or witnesses are in a secure environment and have access to appropriate psychosocial and medical support.
The UN special rapporteur added that a lack of financial and human resources has limited his office’s ability to carry out comprehensive investigations. Nevertheless, he said such inquiries fall within the scope of his mandate.
A section of the UN Security Council report released last week stated that the Taliban authorities had arbitrarily detained women protesters and subjected them to torture, ill-treatment and sexual violence.
On May 30, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected reports of torture in detention facilities and prisons during an interview with Afghanistan International, insisting that Taliban regulations prohibit any form of abuse of detainees.
At least four former Taliban detainees or their relatives also told Afghanistan International that prisoners in Taliban custody are subjected to torture, mistreatment and forced confessions, and that such practices continue in detention facilities.
Women’s rights activist and former Taliban detainee Zarifa Yaqobi likewise rejected the Taliban’s denials, saying she and her colleagues experienced various forms of torture and forced confessions while held in Taliban intelligence detention facilities. She said she is still struggling with the psychological effects of her imprisonment.
Bennett said that in the future, sexual violence committed against people of all genders must receive far greater attention, scrutiny and accountability.
Norway says the Taliban must uphold Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations and end discrimination against women and girls.
Norway’s diplomatic mission for Afghanistan, echoing United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan concerns over the Taliban’s child marriage decree, stressed the need to protect children’s rights.
In a statement posted on X on Friday, Norway’s diplomatic mission for Afghanistan emphasised the protection of children’s rights and the importance of ensuring justice and equal rights for all Afghans.
Earlier, UNAMA expressed concern over the Taliban’s newly approved regulations on marital separation, saying Article 18 of the decree forms part of a broader and deeply worrying trend that is gradually eroding the rights of Afghan women and girls.
Norway was among the first Western countries to maintain channels of communication with the Taliban after the group returned to power in August 2021.
During the years when the Taliban were fighting Western forces and Afghanistan’s former government, Norway hosted several rounds of direct talks in Oslo between the Taliban and their political opponents.
Norway has also accepted Taliban diplomats on its soil, although it has not formally recognised the group as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
This policy reflects the broader approach adopted by many Western countries, which seek conditional and practical engagement with the Taliban to pursue humanitarian goals and manage Afghan migration, without granting the group full political legitimacy.
Amnesty International said global executions in 2025 reached their highest level in 44 years, with the Taliban carrying out six executions in Afghanistan.
According to Amnesty International’s annual report on death sentences and executions published on Monday, at least 2,707 people were executed in 17 countries in 2025, the highest figure recorded since the organisation began tracking executions in 1981.
Amnesty International said the Taliban carried out six executions during the year.
The organisation stated that all executions were conducted publicly, with at least one death sentence issued on charges of “blasphemy”.
Amnesty International also reported that authorities in Iran executed at least 2,159 people in 2025; more than double the figure recorded in 2024 and the largest contributor to the global rise in executions.
The report said Saudi Arabia increased executions to at least 356 cases and made extensive use of the death penalty for drug-related offences.
Last year, executions rose in Kuwait from six to 17, in Egypt from 13 to 23, in Singapore from nine to 17 and in the United States from 25 to 47.
Overall, the number of recorded executions worldwide increased by 78 per cent compared with the previous year.
In 2024, at least 1,518 executions had been documented.
The figures do not include thousands of executions Amnesty believes continue to take place in China.
Drug-Related Executions
Amnesty said hardline anti-drug policies were among the main drivers behind the rise in executions.
According to the report, nearly half of all recorded executions in 2025, 1,257 cases, were linked to drug-related offences, including in Iran, China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Iran accounted for the highest number, with 998 drug-related executions.
The Taliban does not carry out executions for drug trafficking offences.
Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: “A shameless minority are weaponizing the death penalty to instill fear, crush dissent and punish marginalized communities.”
She added: “From China, Iran, North Korea and Saudi Arabia to Yemen, Kuwait, Singapore and the USA, this shameless minority are weaponizing the death penalty to instil fear, crush dissent and show the strength state institutions have over disadvantaged people and marginalized communities.”
Countries Carrying Out Executions Remain a Minority
Amnesty International stressed that despite the increase in executions, countries that continue to use the death penalty remain in the minority.
The United States, Iran, China, Somalia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Egypt, Vietnam and Yemen have remained among the countries carrying out executions for five consecutive years.
At the same time, Amnesty International said the global movement towards abolishing the death penalty continues. When the organisation launched its campaign against capital punishment in 1977, only 16 countries had abolished the death penalty, compared with 113 today.
According to the report, Vietnam abolished the death penalty for eight crimes, including drug transportation, bribery and embezzlement, while Gambia removed capital punishment for murder, treason and certain crimes against the state.
Amnesty International also highlighted efforts in Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon and Nigeria to prevent the return or expansion of the death penalty.
Executions Under Taliban Rule
According to Taliban statements, the group has executed at least 12 people in the provinces of Farah, Laghman, Ghazni, Jowzjan, Badghis, Nimruz and Khost during nearly five years of renewed rule, often in front of hundreds of spectators.
During the Taliban’s previous rule in the late 1990s, public executions and stonings were among the defining features of its government.
Taliban officials refer to executions as “qisas” [retributive justice] and say such punishments are carried out under Islamic law and are necessary to prevent “serious crimes and murder” in Afghanistan.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed serious concern over the Taliban’s detention of at least three journalists on “unspecified charges”.
In a statement on Thursday, May 14, UNAMA also said it was concerned about attacks on Afghan journalists and the confiscation of their property during inspections by Taliban authorities.
The United Nations called for clarity regarding the legal process and the charges against the detained journalists.
The UN mission in Kabul stressed the importance of due process and protecting the rights of detainees at all stages.
UNAMA said “a free, independent, and safe press is essential for transparency, accountability, and the well-being of Afghan society”, urging the Taliban to uphold their obligations under international human rights law.
The statement added that Taliban authorities must ensure journalists can continue their professional work without fear of intimidation, harassment or retaliation.
Taliban intelligence agents have detained Mansoor Niazi, Imran Danish and Javid Niazi.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture confirmed on Tuesday the detention of Mansoor Niazi and Imran Danish, saying their cases were under review and that no court decision had yet been made. The ministry did not specify the reasons for the arrests.
According to reports, Mansoor Niazi, a news presenter and political programme host at TOLOnews, was detained by Taliban intelligence officers on Thursday, May 7, in Kabul’s Karte Char area.
Imran Danish, another presenter and head of the outlet’s political section, was arrested on Saturday evening near the TOLOnews office in Wazir Akbar Khan.
Informed sources told Afghanistan International on Sunday that after news of the journalists’ detention was shared on the broadcaster’s social media accounts, Taliban intelligence forces surrounded the Moby Group office for more than six hours.
According to the sources, around 50 armed Taliban intelligence personnel were deployed around the media company’s headquarters.
The arrests have triggered reactions from international organisations. Amnesty International described the detentions as part of a broader and continuing pattern of intimidation and retaliation against journalists and media workers in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Medical sources in Kandahar told Afghanistan International that Taliban morality police detained two doctors for treating female patients without a male guardian in private clinics in the city.
According to sources, the doctors were arrested over the past four days in clinics located in the Hazrat Ji Baba area of Kandahar after continuing to treat women despite repeated warnings from Taliban morality officers.
Local sources said Taliban officials from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice regularly visit medical centers and clinics across Kandahar city and instruct doctors not to examine or treat women unless accompanied by a male guardian.
According to the sources, the Taliban authorities warned doctors that if a woman arrives at a clinic without a mahram, she must either be turned away or wait until her guardian arrives.
One doctor, speaking anonymously due to security concerns, said: “The morality officers come almost every day asking about women’s examinations, male doctors’ work, and even our beards and clothing. We are under immense pressure and do not know what to do.”
Healthcare workers said the inspections extend beyond female patients and also focus on staff appearance, including beard length and clothing.
Ahmad, a pseudonym used by one healthcare worker, said: “The morality officers tell doctors they must grow beards. If someone’s beard is trimmed or shaved, they are treated harshly, insulted and threatened.”
Some sources also said doctors in several clinics had been verbally warned against wearing what the Taliban describe as Western-style clothing, certain hairstyles and other forms of appearance.
Managers of private clinics and health centers in Kandahar said Taliban morality officers patrol different parts of the city daily and inspect clinics, hospitals and pharmacies.
Several healthcare workers warned that these restrictions could have serious consequences for women’s health because there are very few female specialist doctors in Kandahar.
One doctor in the Hazrat Ji Baba area said: “Many women do not have a male guardian, so where should they go? There are very few female doctors in Kandahar, and most women rely on male doctors. If this is stopped, health problems will increase seriously.”
In recent months, there have been multiple reports of increased Taliban restrictions in Kandahar, including inspections of men’s beards in markets, forcing shopkeepers to close during prayer times, warnings over music, deletion of images and videos from mobile phones and media outlets, and tighter controls in recreational areas.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also confirmed the restrictions. In its latest quarterly report released on Tuesday, May 12, UNAMA said Taliban morality officers in Uruzgan, Paktia and Kandahar had instructed health centers not to treat women without a male guardian.
The report also said Taliban morality officers had detained and mistreated people over clothing, Western-style beard trimming, and listening to or playing music.
UNAMA added that Taliban morality officials had also ordered female healthcare workers to be accompanied by a male guardian while travelling.