KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban continue to recruit children as soldiers and, in some cases, force boys into sexual slavery, including the practice of bacha bazi, despite official bans, the U.S. State Department said in its 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report.
The report, released Monday, said children as young as 12 were recruited into support roles, often with falsified ages, and trained in military and religious schools.
The department found no evidence that the Taliban enforce bans on underage recruitment. No child soldiers were identified or released in 2024, and no investigations or prosecutions were recorded in relation to the practice of bacha bazi, a form of sexual abuse of boys.
The department said trafficking victims, including children forced into sexual exploitation or begging, were frequently arrested and detained without screening or referral to care. Some were held in adult prisons where they faced forced labor, abuse and torture.
According to the report, civil society groups run limited shelters in Kabul for women and children, but their activities are heavily restricted. Taliban rules bar most Afghan women from working with aid agencies, and some female staff have been detained for lacking male guardians.
Afghanistan remains in Tier 3, the lowest ranking in the State Department’s trafficking report, indicating the country fails to meet minimum standards and is not making significant efforts to eliminate trafficking.
Although the Taliban issued a decree last year declaring human trafficking illegal under Sharia law, the report says ministries and public institutions have failed to implement it. “For the third consecutive year, the Taliban did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions, nor did they identify or protect any trafficking victims,” the report said.
Ethnic and religious minorities including Hazara Shia, Ahmadi Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Bahais and Christians are increasingly vulnerable to exploitation due to threats from the Taliban and groups such as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the report added.
The report warned that former Afghan security personnel, particularly those fled to neighboring countries, face risks of trafficking and exploitation in foreign conflict, including potential recruitment into Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The U.S. State Department recommended that the Taliban end the recruitment of children, stop sexual slavery, and take stronger measures to identify and protect trafficking victims. It also recommended implementing the anti-trafficking decree and increasing cooperation with civil society groups supporting vulnerable populations.
