The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, emphasizing that women and girls have effectively been barred from public life, higher education, and many employment opportunities, with widespread discrimination affecting their civil liberties, healthcare services, and freedom of expression. He condemned the Taliban’s latest decrees since 2021, including an expansion of crimes punishable by death, the sanctioning of beatings of women and children, and the criminalization of criticism against Taliban officials, describing Afghanistan as a “graveyard of human rights.” He also stated that this system of segregation is reminiscent of apartheid, except that it is based on gender rather than race. At the same time, ten countries at the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council condemned the Taliban’s detailed court principles, stating in a joint declaration that these principles normalize domestic violence, entrench discrimination, and undermine due process.
Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, declared in his address to the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council that the situation in Afghanistan requires urgent political dialogue. Citing a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on civilian casualties resulting from clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan, he noted that 70 civilians were killed and 447 others were wounded.
Mr. Türk stated that the Taliban’s latest set of decrees, issued since the group seized control of Kabul in 2021, has expanded the number of offenses carrying the death penalty and also permitted the beating of women and children in their homes. He added that criticism of officials has been criminalized, and that the overall conclusion is that Afghanistan has now become a “graveyard of human rights.” Türk stressed: “This system of segregation is reminiscent of apartheid, except that it is built on gender rather than race.”
The High Commissioner added that the Taliban have effectively criminalized the presence of women and girls in public spaces, barring them from secondary and higher education as well as from many employment opportunities. Discrimination has affected women’s access to healthcare services, civic space, freedom of movement, and freedom of expression. He cited as an example the growing controls and repression that the people of Afghanistan now endure in their daily lives, adding that the Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has imposed strict regulations forcing men to grow beards and compelling women to wear mandatory hijab.
The UN official stressed that the Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice requires women to be accompanied by a male guardian when leaving their homes, and has also prohibited them from listening to music and publishing images of living beings. He added that women citizens of Afghanistan, including UN staff, contractors, and visitors, have been banned from entering UN premises across the country. He described these restrictions as “unprecedented and deeply troubling,” and called on the international community to exert pressure on the Taliban to respect their international human rights obligations.
Mr. Türk emphasized in his address: “In Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world, human rights violations and abuses have serious consequences for peace and security.” He also underlined the importance of “documenting and recording violations and abuses that have occurred in Afghanistan.” According to him, Afghan media operate under censorship and financial pressures. They are prohibited from broadcasting music or displaying or publishing any content that Taliban officials deem contrary to the culture of Afghanistan and their interpretation of Sharia law. Women journalists also face near-impossible obstacles in carrying out their professional duties.
The United Nations stated that the desperate and deteriorating situation of the people of Afghanistan has long been one of the primary concerns of the international community. In addition to the UN Human Rights Council, which reflects the voices of the people of Afghanistan, the situation is regularly reviewed at UN Security Council meetings, where measures have been taken, including sanctions, among other steps.
The organization added that the UN General Assembly is fully engaged on the issue of Afghanistan and has adopted resolutions emphasizing continued support for the people of Afghanistan and the establishment of “a stable, secure, and economically self-sufficient state free from terrorism, illicit drugs, transnational organized crime, and corruption.” According to the United Nations, beyond this global body, the International Criminal Court, which has the backing of the United Nations, has issued arrest warrants for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban Supreme Leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the head of the Taliban’s Supreme Court.
At the same time, ten countries at the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council condemned the Taliban’s detailed court principles. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, Chile, and several other countries declared that this document normalizes domestic violence. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand stated in a joint declaration that these principles normalize domestic violence, entrench discrimination, and undermine legal processes. The Italian representative added that the document effectively creates a hierarchical system that divides the citizens of Afghanistan into free persons and slaves, and “raises serious concerns under international law, including the absolute prohibition of slavery and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.”
The 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council was held on Thursday, February 26, 2026, in Geneva, where the human rights situation, particularly the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan, was examined.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
«گورستان حقوق بشر»؛ هشدار کمیشنر عالی حقوق بشر درباره وضعیت زنان در افغانستان
