Erased but Not Forgotten: Voices for Justice and Accountability in Afghanistan

Date: September 29, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM (New York Time)
Location: United Nations Headquarters, New York – Room CR 11

Event Overview
Over 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.