UN Reveals 1600 Human Rights Violations In Taliban-Owned Afghanistan

The United Nations, in a startling revelation, has documented over 1,600 instances of human rights violations against individuals detained by Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. These disturbing findings were unveiled in a comprehensive report released on Wednesday by the UN Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA). 

Shockingly, nearly half of these recorded violations involved acts of torture and ill-treatment, primarily perpetrated by police and intelligence agents.

According to the report, spanning 19 months up to July 2023, 18 individuals lost their lives while in detention facilities or police custody. The gravity of these violations raises serious concerns about the state of human rights in the country since the Taliban assumed control following the withdrawal of foreign forces in 2021.

"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 blindfolding and threats," highlighted UNAMA in its statement. 

The harrowing details paint a grim picture of the conditions faced by those held in Taliban custody.

Vulnerable Populations Under Threat

The report also underscores the vulnerability of certain groups within Afghanistan's population.

Shockingly, approximately one in ten of the documented violations targeted women, a grim testament to the dire situation facing Afghan women under Taliban rule. 

Moreover, journalists and civil society members, who play crucial roles in shaping public discourse, accounted for nearly a quarter of the victims of these violations.

In response to the damning report, the Taliban-led Ministry of Foreign Affairs contested the accuracy of the reported violations, particularly regarding journalists and civil society advocates.

They asserted that efforts were underway within the authorities and the judiciary to enhance oversight and ensure compliance with the supreme leader's decrees prohibiting torture and the coercion of confessions. While the UN acknowledged the importance of these decrees and the limited access to detention facilities, it emphasised that more concrete actions were necessary to address this grave human rights crisis. 

Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of UNAMA commented, "These documented cases highlight the need for urgent, accelerated action by all. There is a pressing need to consider more engagement with the de facto authorities to end these practices."

The United Nations' findings serve as a stark reminder of the challenges facing Afghanistan and the urgent need for international attention and action to safeguard the fundamental rights and dignity of its people in the wake of the Taliban's takeover.

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