There have been more than 800 alleged human rights violations, including an excess of 200 extrajudicial killings, in Afghanistan since the Taliban came to power roughly two years ago, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) found that at least 218 extrajudicial killings took place from the time they assumed power through the end of June 2023, among more than 800 alleged offenses, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and ill-treatment and enforced disappearances against former government officials and Afghan military members. The U.N.'s report was released on Tuesday.
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These human rights violations occurred despite assurances from top Taliban officials that no such retribution would be carried out for those who worked with the United States or with the previous Afghan government that the Taliban overthrew during the final month of the U.S.'s military presence in the nation in August 2021.
“The report presents a sobering picture of the treatment of individuals affiliated with the former government and security forces of Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said. “Even more so, given they were assured that they would be not targeted, it is a betrayal of the people’s trust.”
The Taliban, as they assumed power, attempted to portray itself as a more moderate iteration of themselves, though they have largely resorted back to the same principles they governed with from 1996-2001, including arbitrary detentions and arrests and the stripping of certain women's rights that had been granted to them since they were last in power.
UNAMA documented at least 14 instances of enforced disappearances of former government or military officials, including Alia Azizi, the former head of the Women’s Prison in Herat province. Investigators also found more than 424 arbitrary arrests and more than 144 instances of torture, which included being beaten with pipes and cables, verbal threats, and abuse.
Turk urged the Taliban to "carefully consider the findings of this report and to uphold their obligations under international human rights law by preventing further violations and holding perpetrators to account.”
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The Taliban's foreign affairs ministry denied that there had been human rights abuses against Afghans who served in the previous government or its military.
"No military staff of the previous administration has been arrested, detained or tortured because of his activities in the security institutions," the ministry said, which was included in the U.N.'s report. "Those employees of the previous administration who joined the opposition groups of the Islamic Emirate or had military activities to the detriment of the system, have been arrested and introduced to judicial authorities, keeping in mind all the legal processes."