United Nations: UN Special Rapporteur denounces severe human rights crisis in Afghanistan, with particular focus on the situation of women and girls

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, published on June 11, 2025, a detailed report shedding light on the dramatic situation in the country, with particular attention to access to justice and protection for women and girls under the Taliban regime.

The report explains that the radical transformation undergone by the Afghan legal and judicial system since August 2021, when the Taliban regained control of the country, has created a situation of profound crisis for human rights, especially those of women and girls. According to the Special Rapporteur, the Taliban have systematically dismantled existing laws and reshaped institutions to serve their model of governance, characterized by a strong misogynistic and discriminatory ideology.

For Afghan women and girls, already deprived of their fundamental human rights, the situation is particularly critical. The Taliban-controlled judicial system not only restricts access to justice and protection but serves as a real tool to institutionalise and reinforce a system of gender-based discrimination and domination. This has led to a situation where women and girls are effectively erased from public life, deprived of their most basic rights such as education, work, and freedom of movement. The report highlights how, in the absence of a fair judicial system, many Afghans have turned to informal and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. However, these systems also present serious problems, often entrenching and perpetuating discrimination against women and girls, and cannot be considered a long-term solution.

Faced with this critical situation, the Special Rapporteur emphasises the urgent need to address the justice and protection gap in Afghanistan. Given that reforms of national institutions are currently unlikely under the Taliban regime, the report suggests that international mechanisms could offer an important avenue to hold the Taliban accountable and keep alive the hope of justice for Afghan women and girls.

The report contains a series of recommendations addressed to the international community. Among these, it emphasizes the importance of: ensuring the participation of Afghan women in all discussions concerning the future of the country; adopting a comprehensive action plan to address the human rights crisis in Afghanistan; providing enhanced and continuous support to Afghan-led civil society organizations; ensuring that the humanitarian response plan is fully funded; identifying and strengthening survivor-centered accountability pathways.

The Special Rapporteur also emphasises the importance of supporting ongoing efforts to bring Afghanistan before the International Court of Justice for violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), particularly urging Muslim-majority countries to support these efforts.

The report aims to launch an urgent appeal to the international community not to forget the critical situation in Afghanistan and to take concrete measures to protect human rights, particularly those of women and girls.