UN Experts Warn Against Normalizing Taliban Rule in Afghanistan

United Nations human rights experts warned that the institutionalized repression of women and girls by the Taliban constitutes gender apartheid and a crime against humanity. The experts urged the international community to withhold diplomatic recognition of the group until measurable progress is made on human rights benchmarks.

The report details a deepening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where over 17 million people face acute food insecurity and girls are denied secondary education. Repressive decrees have facilitated child marriage and permitted violence against women, while public floggings intensified in 2025. In June 2026, security forces killed protesters in Herat after at least 30 women and girls were jailed for dress code violations.

Beyond internal repression, the experts highlighted cross-border hostilities with Pakistan that have killed approximately 500 civilians since October 2025. This violence included a March 2026 airstrike on a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul that killed 269 patients. The UN experts called for increased resources for the International Criminal Court and the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Afghanistan to ensure accountability for these actions.