Amnesty International has called for the end of violations against human rights and women’s rights in Afghanistan, demanding accountability from the Taliban.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the rights watchdog said Tuesday that girls have been denied education and women have “faced gender-based” persecution since the Taliban takeover of Kabul on August 15, 2021.
For two consecutive years since the Taliban took over, girls in Afghanistan have been denied education, women have faced gender-based persecution, arbitrary arrests have been made, freedom of expression has been stifled and civilian casualties continue to be reported,” the organization said.
“These violations must end. Continue to demand accountability from the Taliban,” it added.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also said in a report published Tuesday that it has recorded credible reports of serious human rights violations by the Taliban against hundreds of former government officials and former armed forces members, including 218 extrajudicial killings.
The report is part of a series of thematic studies on current human rights issues of concern to the people of Afghanistan and covers the period from the Taliban takeover on 15 August 2021 to 30 June 2023.
It documented at least 800 instances of extrajudicial killing, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment and enforced disappearance carried out against individuals affiliated with the former republic government of Afghanistan and its security forces.
This comes despite a general amnesty proclaimed two years ago by the Taliban.
According to the report, UNAMA documented at least 218 extrajudicial killings of former government officials and ANDSF members since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. The most targeted groups affiliated with the former government were ANA members, Afghan National Police, National Directorate of Security officials and Afghan Local Police.
In most instances, individuals were detained by the Taliban’s security forces, often briefly, before being killed. Some were taken to detention facilities and killed while in custody, others were taken to unknown locations and killed, their bodies either dumped or handed over to family members.
The report stated that UNAMA has documented more than 424 arbitrary arrests and detentions of former government officials and ANDSF members since the Taliban takeover, and at least 14 instances of enforced disappearance.
