Afghanistan: UN report says Taliban committed 1600 cases of human rights violations in past 19 months

The report by UNAMA’s Human Rights Service covers the period from 1 January 2022 to 31 July 2023, with cases documented across 29 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.

Nearly 50 per cent of these violations comprise acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

"These occurred overwhelmingly throughout the process of arrest and custody in places of detention under the de facto Ministry of Interior (MOI), and de facto General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI). Rare instances were documented in prisons under the de facto Office of Prison Administration (OPA)," read a statement issued by the UNAMA.

In attempts to extract confessions or other information, detainees were subjected to severe pain and suffering, through physical beatings, electric shocks, asphyxiation, stress positions and forced ingestion of water, as well as blind-folding and threats.

Violations of due process guarantees, including denial of access to lawyers, are the norm.

These violations have occurred despite the issuance of directives from the de facto authorities aimed at better protecting human rights of detainees and regulating the conduct of security personnel.

"These directives, including a code of conduct issued by the de facto authorities’ leader in January 2022 and similar ad hoc instructions, have not been sufficiently followed at the operational level, the report found," read the statement.

The report highlights the urgent need for the professionalisation of the Taliban security and prison authorities in a number of areas, including their capacity to conduct investigations.

“The personal accounts of beatings, electric shocks, water torture, and numerous other forms of cruel and degrading treatment, along with threats made against individuals and their families, are harrowing. Torture is forbidden in all circumstances,” said Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“This report suggests that torture is also used as a tool – in lieu of effective investigations. I urge all concerned de facto authorities to put in place concrete measures to halt these abuses and hold perpetrators accountable.”

“The prevalence of torture, coupled with the systemic violation of procedural safeguards in custody, such as lack of access to lawyers, must be comprehensively addressed by the de facto authorities.”