Reports

27 October 2025Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+) expresses its profound concern and strongly condemns the widespread and organized campaign of arrests, harassment, systematic pressure, and the forced expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan. These actions constitute a clear violation of fundamental principles of international law, humanitarian obligations, customary norms on refugee protection, and basic human dignity.According to credible international reports and civil society findings, from 2023 to early 2025 Pakistan has deported around 600,000 Afghan refugees and forced between 800,000 to one million others into deportation without distinguishing their residency status. Women, human rights defenders, journalists, and other vulnerable individuals in Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Quetta have been detained without individual assessment and face the imminent risk of deportation. There are reports of journalists and activists wanted by the Taliban who, after being detained in Pakistan, were returned to Afghanistan without any legal process.Former military personnel and security employees—who face risks of torture, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial killing in Afghanistan—have been taken out of camps and compelled to return. Ethnic and religious minorities and other vulnerable groups have also been listed for expulsion. Civil society activists, artists, and musicians have reported that Pakistani police detained and deported them solely by labeling them as “illegal.”These accounts demonstrate that the deportation process in Pakistan is collective, lacking individual examination, and carried out with violence, humiliation, and complete denial of access to legal counsel and judicial procedures. Many arrests occur at night, suddenly, and without prior notice—clear examples of forced return and widespread human rights violations.Although Pakistan is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the principle of non-refoulement is a binding rule of customary international law, obligating all states. Forcibly returning individuals to Afghanistan—where they face risks of torture, political persecution, gender-based violence, enforced disappearance, or death—directly violates the…

Date: September 29, 2025Time: 10:00 AM (New York Time)Location: United Nations Headquarters, New York – Room CR 11Event OverviewOver the past four years, Afghanistan has endured one of the darkest periods in its modern history under Taliban rule. Afghan society, particularly women and girls, has been stripped of fundamental rights, denied education, employment, freedom of movement, and participation in public life. What has unfolded amounts to gender apartheid and, in many cases, crimes against humanity under international law. Ethnic and religious minorities, human rights defenders, journalists, and former security personnel have faced arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.Against this backdrop, the event “Erased but Not Forgotten: Voices for Justice and Accountability in Afghanistan”, a joint effort led by the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN and the Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+) and it is secretariat Civil Society and Human Rights Network – CSHRN brought together HRDs, women’s rights activists, legal experts, representatives of UN Member States, and civil society leaders at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The gathering became a vital platform to amplify survivor-centered perspectives and to press for stronger international accountability mechanisms.Throughout the session, speakers and panelists underscored the urgent need for all-tools accountability approaches—from independent investigations into human rights abuses, to survivor-centered justice, to greater international solidarity with Afghan civil society. Advocacy missions and high-level discussions highlighted not only the human cost of ongoing persecution but also the responsibility of the international community to act.By uniting survivors, defenders, activists, and global partners, the event transformed concern into action-oriented dialogue. It reaffirmed that justice, accountability, and dignity for the Afghan people cannot be delayed and that the international community must remain committed to supporting Afghanistan’s path toward peace and human rights. Download English PDF

In recent days, the Taliban authorities have imposed further restrictions on the media in Afghanistan. Despite the suffocating atmosphere and intense surveillance by the regime, media outlets in the country continue their efforts to inform the public and make use of any remaining space for journalism. However, even with utmost caution and adherence to neutrality, Afghan media continue to face severe censorship and restrictions from the Taliban.The order to suspend the broadcasting of Shamshad TV programs—a network that has operated in Afghanistan for many years and is considered one of the country’s reputable media outlets—serves as a clear example of such censorship and suppression targeting the media community.The Human Rights Defenders Plus – HRD+ condemns this unjust and oppressive decision in the strongest possible terms, describing it as a reprehensible act against freedom of expression, media freedom, and human rights as a whole.HRD+ calls on all civil society organizations, media institutions, political groups, and intellectuals inside and outside Afghanistan to mobilize in defense of media freedom and the protection of citizens’ rights, and to engage in advocacy both nationally and internationally.Furthermore, HRD+ urgently calls upon all international human rights monitoring bodies, global institutions working for human rights, and the UN Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and on freedom of expression to take the necessary actions to support and protect freedom of expression in Afghanistan. Download Persian PDF

Introduction:Let us once again raise our voices for justice and accountability for the people of Afghanistan—especially women, girls, minorities, and marginalized communities—who continue to face systemic persecution under Taliban rule.From 8 September to 8 October 2025, the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC60) convened in Geneva, bringing together states, experts, NGOs, and civil society to address Afghanistan’s worsening human rights crisis. Fundamental freedoms remain under attack, with women, girls, and minorities most affected.During the session, CSHRN, HRD+, OMCT, ADDO, and partners engaged in high-level dialogues and interactive discussions to amplify the voices of survivors, women leaders, and minority groups—urging accountability, justice, and international protection.The OHCHR report (A/HRC/60/231)1 confirmed the ongoing deterioration, highlighting gender persecution, bans on girls’ education, discriminatory laws, and the suppression of free expression and minority rights. Complete Report (PDF)

Introduction:Let us raise our voices and expose the systemic persecution faced by women, minorities, and marginalized communities under Taliban rule. At the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Afghan civil society presented urgent testimonies and evidence of crimes against humanity including gender apartheid, torture, and repression of ethnic and religious minorities. Together, we call on the UNHRC to take bold steps toward accountability, justice, and international protection.From June 16 to July 08, 2025, the 59th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC59) convened in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together UN Member States, experts, NGOs, and civil society actors to address some of the world’s most urgent human rights crises. Afghanistan remained at the center of discussions, as the international community confronted a worsening situation under Taliban rule marked by escalating gender persecution, repression of minority groups, and the breakdown of access to justice.Throughout the session, the Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN), Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+), World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), and Afghanistan Democracy and Development Organization (ADDO) stood in solidarity with Afghan human rights defenders. Together with national and international allies, we participated in key dialogues, side events, and high-level advocacy ensuring that the voices of survivors, former detainees, women leaders, and minority communities were heard at the highest levels.This newsletter presents highlights from the 59th HRC session, including findings from the Special Rapporteur’s report, key side events, and firsthand testimonies. It underscores the continued determination of Afghan civil society to resist oppression and demand international accountability for the grave and ongoing violations of human rights across Afghanistan. Complete Report (PDF)

Today, Civil Society and Human Rights Network – CSHRN together with over 100 Afghan and international human rights and civil society organisations, have issued a joint open letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council.The letter urges the Council to urgently establish an independent international accountability mechanism for Afghanistan to investigate past and ongoing human rights violations and crimes under international law.For nearly four years, the people of Afghanistan—especially women, girls, minorities, LGBTQI+ communities, journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society activists—have faced unprecedented repression under Taliban rule. Arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, gender persecution, restrictions on education and work, violent reprisals, and erasure of women and girls from public life are only part of the worsening crisis.The joint call stresses that justice and accountability are essential to end decades of impunity and to support victims and survivors in their pursuit of truth, justice, and reparations. The mechanism would complement the work of the UN Special Rapporteur, as well as international and national accountability efforts, and ensure that Afghan voices are at the center of this process.This year, the number of signatories has grown, reflecting an ever-stronger global consensus: Afghanistan cannot be abandoned, and impunity must end.Read the full letter here Download English PDF Download Persian PDF Download Pashto PDF

23 July 2025With deep concern and serious distress, we bring to the attention of the international community numerous documented reports of widespread, degrading, and organized arrests of women by the Taliban’s so-called “Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV).”These arrests are being carried out deliberately in densely populated and high-traffic areas of Kabul, including Shahr-e-Naw, Qala-e-Fathullah, Dasht-e-Barchi, Taimani, Pul-e-Surkh, Karte-3, Dehbori, and Macroryan. Women have primarily been arrested while commuting for basic needs such as shopping, visiting pharmacies, going to work, or attending educational institutions—even though many of them were fully covered in Islamic attire, including black chadors or niqabs, and dressed in accordance with the Taliban’s own ideological standards.Nevertheless, these women have been detained without any official documentation or formal charges, subjected to humiliation, and transferred to detention centres operated by the so-called PVPV.According to reliable sources and verified testimonies:Detained women are forced to remain in custody for at least three days;Their release is conditioned upon payment of amounts ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 Afghanis by their families—illegally and informally collected as “fines” or “release fees”;In several cases, their mobile phones and personal documents are confiscated, and families are pressured to pay additional sums to retrieve them;We have received reports that some women, upon release, have faced violence and abuse within their households.These incidents represent widespread and systematic violations of human rights, human dignity, and fundamental principles of women’s rights. They constitute clear examples of arbitrary detention, abuse of authority, and the instrumentalization of religious doctrine for purposes of financial extortion and social repression.As a civil society organization, we emphasize that these actions are not only a grave threat to the individual and social freedoms of women, but they also exacerbate domestic violence, social exclusion, and public fear among women and families.We urgently…

Date: 22 July 2025We, Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+), express our deep concern and profound regret, and we strongly condemn the sentencing of Abdulalim Khamosh, a cultural educator and social activist, to death.Abdulalim Khamosh, who worked in one of the most deprived regions of the country, now faces the imminent risk of execution—solely because of a professional and humane conversation he held with a local Taliban official. He has been convicted based on fabricated charges and without access to meaningful legal defence.This ruling is not only a blatant violation of the right to life and the principles of fair trial, but also a clear sign of abuse of power, silencing of independent voices, and the continued policy of repression and revenge by the Taliban against informed and civil segments of society.Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+):Calls for the immediate and unconditional annulment of the death sentence against Abdulalim Khamosh;Urges all international bodies, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and UN Special Rapporteurs, to take immediate action on this case and use all available mechanisms to prevent this flagrant injustice;Emphasizes that the establishment of an independent and impartial international monitoring mechanism to follow the situation of civil and political prisoners in Afghanistan is more urgent than ever;Appeals to civil society activists, media professionals, intellectuals, and artists in Afghanistan and around the world to raise their voices against this unjust ruling and not let silence become an accomplice to the crime.Stop the execution of Abdulalim Khamosh, do not sacrifice justice to vengeanceWith respect and commitment to human dignityHuman Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+) Download English PDF Download Persian PDF

From: Afghanistan’s Exiled Civil Society and Human Rights Community To: EU Member States: Germany, Spain, Czechia, the Netherlands, and BulgariaWe, Afghanistan’s exiled civil society and human rights community, address you with deep concern and an urgent plea to prevent recent risks of legitimizing repression by the Taliban de facto authorities.Recently, the German Ministry of Interior announced its intention to seek ways to communicate with the de facto authorities in Afghanistan. This was promptly welcomed by the de facto authorities, who, in response, indicated their interest in such engagement while again demanding international recognition.We remind the German Government of its commitment to its feminist foreign policy, which aims to integrate gender equality and women’s rights into all aspects of international relations, address global inequalities, and promote human security. Moreover, Germany recently remarked before the UN General Assembly: “Germany remains committed to the Afghan people.”We have also noted with alarm reports that the German Government has authorized the Munich Consulate to provide services to refugees and migrants who are nationals of Afghanistan. Based on credible information we have received, we are deeply concerned that the Munich Consulate and other missions may be sharing sensitive information with the de facto authorities in Kabul.Given the grave risk of reprisals, threats, harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance, such actions threaten the already shrinking space for thousands of human rights defenders, journalists, and others in vulnerable situations who continue to advocate for fundamental rights in the face of enormous danger.We urgently call upon Germany and other EU Member States to immediately cease any measures that could serve to legitimize the de facto authorities and not to normalize a “human rights violating regime” of gender apartheid, consistent with UN Experts. According to Germany itself, with respect to its Initiative on accountability…

Date: 6 July 2025Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+) expresses its deep concern and profound sorrow as we strongly condemn the expanding, unjustified, and degrading forced deportations of Afghan migrants and refugees by the Islamic Republic of Iran. In recent weeks, thousands of Afghan migrants—including women, children, the elderly, the sick, and young people—have been deported or are at imminent risk of deportation without the minimum legal and humanitarian standards being observed. This unjust process continues while many of these individuals possess valid residence permits, registered asylum cases, or are in clear need of international protection.These hasty deportations, accompanied by the structural and systematic violation of migrants and refugees human rights, reveal painful aspects of a large-scale humanitarian crisis:Widespread and severe depression among young people, especially female students, who are suddenly deprived of their right to education and a brighter future;Psychological breakdowns among migrant women, who, due to severed social ties, lost security, and family separation, are placed in extreme vulnerability;Increasing deprivation of fundamental rights such as education, healthcare, job security, shelter, and basic human services, which completely disregard their human dignity and lead to deep and lasting social and psychological consequences.Independent and field reports further reveal numerous cases of:Arrest and deportation of migrants without prior notice, often in the middle of the night or during work and rest;Separation of family members and severe psychological trauma for children due to these separations;Confiscation or loss of migrants’ personal belongings;Abandonment in dire conditions at border areas without food, water, medicine, or shelter.Serious WarningMany of those deported or at risk of deportation belong to groups facing serious threats of persecution, including: Journalists and media workers, women protesting against the Taliban’s repressive policies, civil and human rights activists, former military personnel and security forces of the previous government, former Afghan government employees.Under international…