UN says Taliban committing 'rights violations' against Afghan returnees

A United Nations report published Thursday said Taliban authorities were committing human rights violations, including torture and arbitrary detention, against Afghans forced to return by Iran and Pakistan.

"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."

The report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN Human Rights Office was based on interviews with 49 returned Afghans.

Since 2023, large-scale deportation campaigns launched by Iran and Pakistan have forced millions of Afghans to return to Afghanistan, including more than 1.9 million people so far in 2025, the overwhelming majority from Iran.

The UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) recently estimated that up to three million people could return by the end of the year, to a country facing a severe humanitarian crisis.

According to the UN report, 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.