UN Accuses Afghanistan Taliban of Human Rights Abuses

The United Nations has intensified its scrutiny of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, accusing them of perpetrating widespread human rights abuses since seizing power in August 2021. On October 6, 2025, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a landmark resolution establishing an independent investigative mechanism to document international crimes and serious violations, including those by the Taliban, former government officials, international forces, and non-state groups like ISIL-K. This move underscores the global alarm over the Taliban's systematic oppression, particularly against women and girls, described as "gender apartheid." Central to these accusations is the Taliban's draconian policies enforcing discriminatory edicts under the guise of Islamic law. Women and girls face near-total exclusion from public life: bans on secondary and higher education, restrictions on employment, travel without male guardians, and even bans on public speaking or park access. These measures have erased millions from society, fueling suicide rates, forced marriages, and economic despair amid a humanitarian crisis affecting 16 million children without basic aid. Ethnic and religious minorities, former officials, journalists, and activists endure arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances, with over 800 documented cases since 2021. UN experts, including Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett, warn of an "intensifying crisis" marked by shrinking civic space, corporal punishments, and reprisals against returnees. Despite Taliban pledges of amnesty, impunity prevails, betraying international human rights obligations under treaties like CEDAW. The UN urges sustained pressure, accountability, and aid to counter this repression, emphasizing that distortions of religion cannot justify persecution. As Afghanistan teeters on atrocity risks, the world must prioritize Afghan voices to dismantle this regime of fear.