Afghanistan Country Report
Country Report: Afghanistan
October 2026
By Holly Swiglo
August 15, 2026, marked five years since the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, took power in Afghanistan after the United States withdrew its troops from the country. The Taliban has since eliminated all political and civic rights, dissolved representative bodies, and imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Independent journalists and critics of the Taliban, as well as civilians and former government employees, are subject to arbitrary arrest, corporal punishment, torture, and execution, with little chance of a fair trial. In the first half of 2026 alone, Taliban authorities carried out corporal punishment against at least 449 individuals and arbitrarily arrested at least 777 people. The Taliban has carried out 12 public executions since 2021.
Attacks on religious and ethnic minorities have continued. Taliban officials detained 45 Shia Muslims for displaying a flag for Ashura, a day of mourning for Shias, and closed several Shia mosques. The Taliban has forced Shia families to send their children to Sunni religious schools and made 203 people convert to Sunni Islam, subjecting those who refused to assault and death threats. Individuals who promote beliefs in opposition to Islam can be punished by death. Additionally, the Islamic State-Khorasan Province, a terrorist group, continues to attack Hazaras and other minorities.
Taliban authorities have continued to limit women's rights by sanctioning child marriage, creating significant barriers for women seeking divorce, prohibiting women’s education beyond grade six, and detaining women for perceived inadherence to the hijab law. The United Nations (UN) reported a 40% increase in the risk of gender-based violence in Afghanistan in 2025, with 14.2 million women in need of protection.
Accordingly, Germany, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands initiated legal action against the Taliban for violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The International Criminal Court is currently investigating crimes against humanity and war crimes in Afghanistan and has issued arrest warrants for two Taliban officials for persecuting women and LGBTQ+ people. Taliban law criminalizes same-sex relations, and LGBTQ+ individuals face abuse.
Foreign states have played a significant role in the atrocities in Afghanistan. Neighboring countries forced nearly three million Afghans to return to Afghanistan in 2025, resulting in the enforced disappearance of several former government employees upon their arrival. These forced returns, plus Taliban restrictions and declining foreign donations, have left Afghanistan in an economic and humanitarian crisis with tens of millions experiencing food insecurity.
Due to continued infringements upon women’s rights, Genocide Watch considers Afghanistan to be at Stage 3: Discrimination. The persecution and killings of religious and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people, and former government employees place Afghanistan at Stage 8: Persecution.
Genocide Watch recommends:
UN members halt all forced returns of Afghans and provide safe and legal pathways for Afghan migrants.
Foreign donors finance the $1.71 billion needed for the UN Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Afghanistan, ensuring aid is equitably distributed to women and minorities.
The UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council continually renew the mandates of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, respectively, and ensure they are provided with adequate resources.
UN member states fully cooperate with and provide financial support for the UN Independent Mechanism for Afghanistan to record evidence of international crimes.
The UN codifies gender apartheid as an international crime in the proposed Treaty for the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity.
