In his last quarterly report on Afghanistan this year, the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres has indicated that the Taliban have committed extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests in Afghanistan, primarily in Panjshir province. The UN Security Council is set to discuss the report on Tuesday.
“UNAMA documented 69 extrajudicial killings, 14 arbitrary arrests and detentions, and 6 instances of torture and ill-treatment of individuals accused of affiliation with the National Resistance Front, primarily in Panjshir Province,” said the report released on Saturday, December 17.
The report is set to be discussed at the UN Security Council on December 20. Roza Otunbyeva, the UNSG’s Special Representative for Afghanistan will also deliver her remarks at the Council’s meeting.
During the reporting period from August 17 to November 13, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented 530 civilian casualties (124 killed; 406 wounded), according to the report.
The leading causes were improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance, the report added.
The report also noted, “On 30 September, 54 people were killed and 114 wounded – mainly young women and girls from the Hazara community – in an unclaimed suicide attack on the Kaaj Educational Centre in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul”.
As indicated in the report, unexploded ordnance killed 19 and wounded 35 people, mostly children, during the reporting period.
UNAMA also documented at least nine extrajudicial killings, five cases of torture and ill-treatment, and at least 29 arbitrary arrests and detentions carried out by the Taliban against former government officials and Afghan National Defence and Security Forces members.
While human rights violations against individuals accused of affiliation with the Islamic State – Khurasan Province (ISKP) decreased compared with previous periods, UNAMA documented 69 extrajudicial killings, 14 arbitrary arrests and detentions, and 6 instances of torture and ill-treatment of individuals accused of affiliation with the National Resistance Front.
UNAMA has recorded at least 48 extrajudicial killings between 12 and 14 September in Dara and Khenj districts of the northeastern Panjshir province. “Some captured National Resistance Front members were reportedly executed extrajudicially,” the report added.
According to the report, the United Nations recorded 1,587 security-related incidents which suggest a 23 percent increase from 1,291 incidents recorded during the same period in 2021.
Moreover, the UN mission has found that armed opposition activities have intensified as it has recorded 22 armed groups claiming to operate in 11 provinces.
“Attacks claimed by or attributed to ISIL-K decreased to 30 attacks in six provinces from 121 attacks in 14 provinces during the same period in 2021, although casualties remained significant,” UNAMA said referring to another acronym of the ISKP.
The UNSG’s report also noted that the Taliban continued to curtail the people’s rights to freedom of opinion, expression, and peaceful assembly.
“No progress was seen with regard to girls’ access to secondary education or the inclusiveness of governance structures during the reporting period,” part of the report read.
