UN says Taliban committing 'rights violations' against Afghan returnees
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United Nations said Thursday that Taliban authorities were committing human rights violations, including torture and arbitrary detention, against Afghans forced to return by Iran and Pakistan.
Large-scale deportation campaigns have led to the return of millions of Afghans to Afghanistan, with over 1.9 million people returning so far in 2025 from Pakistan and Iran — the vast majority from Iran.
"People returning to the country who were at particular risk of reprisals and other human rights violations by the de facto (Taliban) authorities were women and girls, individuals affiliated with the former government and its security forces, media workers and civil society," the UN said in a statement accompanying the release of the report.
"These violations have included torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and threats to personal security."
UN refugee agency (UNHCR) recently estimated that up to three million people could return to Afghanistan in 2025, a country facing a severe humanitarian crisis.
The report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN Human Rights Office was based on interviews with 49 returned Afghans.
An Iranian bus drops off Afghan refugees at Zero Point on the Islam Qala border in Herat Province on July 24, 2025. Photo: AFP
It said violations have been committed against Afghans "based on their specific profile", including women, media workers, and members of civil society, as well as individuals affiliated with the former foreign-backed government that fell in 2021.
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 two-decade conflict against the Taliban's insurgency.
"Nobody should be sent back to a country where they face risk of persecution on account of their identity or personal history," UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement earlier this month.
"In Afghanistan, this is even more pronounced for women and girls, who are subjected to a range of measures that amount to persecution on the basis of their gender alone," he added.
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