On the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, United Nations human rights experts delivered a scathing indictment of the group, accusing it of gender-based persecution, systematic human rights violations, and open defiance of international law.
In a statement issued Thursday, the experts warned the world against any move to normalise Taliban rule, urging that its leaders be held accountable for crimes against humanity. They cited the regime’s “institutionalised system of gender oppression,” public executions, arbitrary arrests, silencing of the media, and targeted discrimination against ethnic, religious, and gender minorities.
“Operating without legitimacy, the Taliban crushes dissent, exacts reprisals, and muzzles independent voices while showing outright contempt for human rights, equality, and non-discrimination,” the experts said.
The statement highlighted a litany of abuses, including executions, corporal punishment, enforced disappearances, restrictions on religious freedom, and a growing number of internally displaced persons. Experts called for criminalising gender apartheid, protecting Afghan refugees, increasing humanitarian aid, and strengthening civil society.
They warned that each day of inaction tightens the Taliban’s “oppressive grip,” stressing that Afghanistan’s future must be shaped by its own people—not by a regime built on fear and repression.
