KABUL— The United Nations has documented ongoing human rights abuses against former Afghan security officials, despite the Taliban’s publicly stated commitment to a general amnesty, according to a recent U.N. report.
Between November 2024 and January 2025, the report recorded one extrajudicial killing of a former security official, thirty-seven arbitrary arrests and detentions of individuals affiliated with the previous Afghan government, and 18 cases of torture and mistreatment of detainees .
The report also highlights a notable public execution in Gardez, Paktiya Province, on November 13. The individual was sentenced to death for a crime allegedly committed as a minor, with the execution approved at all three levels of the Taliban’s military court system before final authorization by the group’s supreme leadership .
The U.N. report warns that continued violations of the Taliban’s amnesty pledge could further isolate Afghanistan from the international community. It urges the Taliban to conduct transparent investigations into extrajudicial killings, end arbitrary detentions and the torture of former security personnel, and ensure the protection of individuals affiliated with the previous government .
Despite repeated calls from the United Nations to uphold basic human rights, the findings indicate a continued pattern of repression, raising concerns over Afghanistan’s worsening security and governance under Taliban rule.
