Taliban accused of breaching human rights for Afghan refugees reentering the country by United Nations
In 2025, Afghans returning to their homeland face a severe humanitarian crisis and widespread human rights violations at the hands of the Taliban de facto authorities. The UN estimates that up to three million people could return to Afghanistan, a country already grappling with a humanitarian crisis.
The Taliban government has previously denied allegations of abuse, having declared an amnesty against those who worked for NATO forces and the former government during their conflict. However, the UN rights chief, Volker Turk, has stated that nobody should be sent back to a country where they face risk of persecution on account of their identity or personal history.
The Taliban authorities have enforced harsh restrictions and punitive measures that severely curtail women's rights. Women are required to wear full face coverings, are banned from public speech, and face limitations on movement, education, employment, and political participation. In August 2024, the Taliban introduced new "vice and virtue" laws that codify these repressive edicts, reinstating severe punishments such as public stoning and flogging for alleged adultery.
Human rights abuses against returnees—including those forcibly sent back from Iran and Pakistan—have been well documented by the United Nations. These abuses include arbitrary arrests, torture, ill-treatment, threats to personal security, and mistreatment, disproportionately targeting women, media workers, civil society members, and former government and security personnel.
The scale of forced returns in 2025 is significant, with over 1.9 million Afghans having returned or been deported mainly from Iran and Pakistan. These mass returns have been condemned by UN experts who stress that Afghanistan remains unsafe for returnees due to the deteriorating human rights situation. The UN has called for countries to conduct individual assessments before returning Afghans and to refrain from sending anyone at risk of persecution.
The UN has identified specific groups at risk of human rights violations, including women, individuals affiliated with the former government and its security forces, media workers, civil society members, and those with ties to the foreign-backed government that fell in 2021. The report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN Human Rights Office has highlighted that violations are being committed against Afghans based on their specific profile.
The international community, primarily through UN bodies, condemns these violations and seeks to address them through advocacy, monitoring, and calls for protective measures by sending states. The UN has urged increased international financial support for reintegration and safe alternatives for threatened individuals.
Notably, the Taliban authorities have further isolated women from public life in Afghanistan, banning them from universities, public parks, gyms, and beauty salons, which the UN has denounced as "gender apartheid". The UN called for an "immediate halt" to forcible returns last week.
As of now, Russia is the only country that has recognized the Taliban government since it seized power in 2021. The UN report, based on interviews with 49 returned Afghans, has documented violations such as torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and threats to personal security.
In summary, the Taliban authorities continue systematic repression and violations of returning Afghans’ rights, especially women and media workers, amid large-scale forced returns. The international community, through UN bodies, condemns these actions and seeks to address them through advocacy, monitoring, and calls for protective measures by sending states.
- The UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan have highlighted violations against Afghans based on their specific profile, including women, individuals affiliated with the former government, media workers, civil society members, and those with ties to the foreign-backed government.
- The UN has urged increased international financial support for reintegration and safe alternatives for threatened individuals, as Afghanistan faces a severe humanitarian crisis and widespread human rights violations, with a focus on women's health and general news coverage.
- Science and politics are impacted by the crisis, as the Taliban government's harsh restrictions and punitive measures have severely curtail women's rights, banning them from universities, public parks, gyms, and beauty salons, which the UN has denounced as "gender apartheid."
- Migration, war, and conflicts remain concerning issues, as up to three million people could return to Afghanistan in 2025, and the international community continues to condemn the Taliban's human rights abuses, including against war veterans and former government personnel, while calling for countries to conduct individual assessments before returning Afghans and to refrain from sending anyone at risk of persecution.
