KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the UN Human Rights Council to urgently establish an independent body to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for serious human rights abuses in Afghanistan, both past and present.
In a statement released today, HRW highlighted the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation under Taliban rule, three years after their takeover. The organization described Afghanistan as facing “the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis,” due to the Taliban’s repressive policies that have disproportionately targeted women and girls.
“The Taliban have systematically violated fundamental rights in Afghanistan with impunity,” said Fereshta Abbasi, an Afghanistan researcher at HRW. “The UN Human Rights Council should create a dedicated mechanism to collect and preserve evidence of abuses and support accountability efforts, as has been done in other crises.”
The 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council, set to convene in Geneva on Monday, will address a range of issues, including the human rights situation in Afghanistan. Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, will present his latest report, which is expected to continue documenting the worsening conditions in the country.
Afghanistan remains the only nation where girls are banned from education beyond the sixth grade, and women are barred from attending university. The Taliban have also imposed severe restrictions on women’s employment, freedom of movement, and participation in public life, including bans on sports, visiting parks, and public singing.
Beyond the crackdown on women’s rights, the Taliban have severely restricted freedom of expression and the media, with journalists facing threats, arbitrary detention, and torture. This repression has stifled independent reporting. Additionally, members of the LGBTQ+ community have been targeted and detained arbitrarily.
As Afghanistan faces a severe humanitarian crisis—with 23 million people confronting hunger—HRW and a coalition of 90 Afghan and international rights groups are urging the UN Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the special rapporteur on Afghanistan. This mandate, established in 2021, remains crucial amid the ongoing deterioration of rights in the country.
The coalition is also pressing for the creation of an independent mechanism to investigate past and ongoing abuses, addressing decades of impunity for grave violations. This body would focus on preserving evidence and identifying perpetrators, with particular attention to the Taliban’s widespread human rights violations against women and girls.
Furthermore, the coalition is advocating for the recognition of gender apartheid as a crime under international law, urging the Human Rights Council to seriously consider this move.
“The UN Human Rights Council should create an independent accountability mechanism to uphold the rights of Afghans to justice and reparations for the abuses they have suffered for decades without redress,” Abbasi emphasized.
