Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan

A/HRC/RES/51/20View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 2Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, published in 2022.

What other versions does this mandate have?

16 versions · 1989–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/60/2

2025A/HRC/RES/60/2Situation of human rights in AfghanistanLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/HRC/RES/57/3Situation of human rights in AfghanistanCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/54/1Situation of human rights in AfghanistanCompare with previous version
2022A/HRC/RES/51/20Situation of human rights in AfghanistanCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/48/1Situation of human rights in AfghanistanCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Accountability Afghanistan Human Rights Human Rights Violations Special Rapporteurs Women's Rights

What does this mandate say?

27 operative paragraphs

Continues to condemn in the strongest possible terms all human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law committed in Afghanistan, in particular those involving summary or extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, violence against peaceful protestors, journalists and media representatives, particularly women journalists and media representatives, as well as former judges, prosecutors and other magistrates, civil servants, or law enforcement and military personnel, reprisals, raids on offices of non-governmental organizations and civil society groups, including women’s rights organizations, violations and abuses of the human rights of all women, girls, children, persons with disabilities, persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, and other marginalized groups, and the targeting of those who have worked for the Government of Afghanistan and of former military personnel;

Calls for an immediate end to all human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in Afghanistan, for strict respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights to life, for the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to a fair trial, the right to an effective remedy, the rights to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, housing, and safe drinking water and sanitation, to education, work, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, freedom of peaceful assembly, and of religion or belief, freedom of expression and the right to liberty of movement and freedom to leave the country, and for the protection of civilians and critical civilian infrastructure, particularly medical and educational facilities in the country;

Reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by all women, girls and all children in Afghanistan, including their right to freedom of movement, the right to education, the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including their sexual and reproductive health, the right to work and the right of access to justice on an equal basis with others, and the importance of protecting women, girls and all children from violations and abuses, and in this regard notes that, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is anyone under the age of 18;

Expresses grave concern at continuing reports of serious human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law committed against children, including killing and maiming, sexual and gender-based violence in all its forms, exploitation, the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups in hostilities, attacks on students, teachers, schools and universities, the unlawful military use of educational facilities and the denial of humanitarian access;

Condemns all forms of discrimination against women and girls, including women and girls with disabilities, and reminds all parties that all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including violence against women and girls, the sexual slavery of boys (bacha bazi) and child, early and forced marriage constitute violations and abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Expresses deep concern at the lack of accountability for the human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law committed in Afghanistan;

Calls upon the Taliban to reverse the policies and practices that currently restrict the human rights of people in Afghanistan and to bring them into line with the international human rights obligations of Afghanistan, including policies and practices that unduly restrict the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls, including freedom of movement and the rights to education, work and public participation, and those that discriminate against persons belonging to ethnic or religious minority groups, including Hazaras;

Calls for opportunities and access to inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels for women and girls, for the immediate and unconditional reopening of schools for girls of all ages, and for equal and quality education for girls and boys at all levels;

Also calls for respect for and the promotion and protection of the right of everyone to take part in cultural life, including the ability to have access to and to enjoy cultural heritage, and for the protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage consistent with article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the two optional protocols thereto, and urges all parties to refrain from any unlawful military use and the targeting of cultural property;

Reiterates the urgency of a prompt, independent and impartial review of or investigation into all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law to end impunity, ensure accountability and bring perpetrators to justice;

Reiterates its call for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process for the establishment of a participative, inclusive and representative government, including with regard to gender and all ethnic and religious minorities, and ensuring the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and youth in decision-making positions and processes;

Urges the international community to adjust further its engagement with any future Government of Afghanistan with regard to respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Afghans, including women, girls, children, persons with disabilities and persons belonging to marginalized groups, including ethnic and religious minorities, and respect for the rule of law, freedom of expression, including for members of the media, with specific attention to human rights defenders, and respect for the obligations of Afghanistan under international human rights law;

Reiterates the need to address the profound challenges facing Afghanistan, including through efforts to provide assistance in the fulfilment of human rights obligations arising from international treaties that Afghanistan has ratified, and to offer support and advice to civil society;

Underscores the need for and calls for further improvement in the living conditions of the Afghan people, and emphasizes the need for providing basic social services at the national, provincial and local levels, in particular education, clean water, sanitation, digital connectivity and public health services, with special attention to the needs of women, girls, disadvantaged and marginalized groups, including persons belonging to minority groups and persons with disabilities;

Expresses deep concern at the humanitarian situation, calls upon the international community to offer greater support, including in the context of the food security situation and the ongoing protection crisis, and urges all parties to allow immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, including across conflict lines, to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all those in need, particularly internally displaced persons and those in situations of vulnerability, and to respect the independence of humanitarian agencies and guarantee the protection of humanitarian personnel, including female workers;

Encourages any future Government of Afghanistan to continue engagement and cooperation with the United Nations, including with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and other relevant United Nations entities;

Reiterates its call for the reinstatement of an independent national human rights institution in line with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), to protect and promote all human rights, receive complaints from the public, monitor places of detention and bring issues to the attention of the de facto authorities, and also for the reinstatement of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs;

Calls for the provision of an enabling environment for civil society actors and the media to carry out their activities without hindrance or fear of reprisal, the investigation of cases of intimidation and attacks against members of civil society, including women’s rights organizations, and journalists, bringing perpetrators to justice, and for measures to promote respect for freedom of expression and access to information and support;

Acknowledges the specific access provided to the Special Rapporteur;

Decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan for a period of one year, and to include in his mandate a child’s rights perspective and the responsibility to document and preserve information relating to human rights violations and abuses, and to present a report to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-second session, to provide an oral update at its fifty-fourth session, and to present a report to the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session, in accordance with their respective programmes of work;

Requests the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, with the support of other relevant special procedure mandate holders, to prepare a report on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan, and to present it to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-third session, to be followed by an enhanced interactive dialogue;

Decides that, in order to provide the support necessary to the mandate holder, the mandate holder shall continue to benefit from additional dedicated and specific resources and expertise to be provided by the Office of the High Commissioner, in particular in the areas of fact-finding, legal analysis, forensics, the human rights of women and girls and of persons belonging to minorities, the right to education, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and additional resources for children’s rights, translation, documentation, information- and evidence-gathering and preservation;

Calls upon all relevant actors in Afghanistan to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council and the treaty bodies, and other international bodies seized with the situation in Afghanistan, to grant them unhindered access to the country without delay, and to provide them with all necessary information and support to allow for the proper fulfilment of their mandates, and to ensure that civil society organizations, human rights defenders, victims, survivors, their families and other individuals have unhindered access to the above-mentioned bodies and mechanisms without fear of reprisals, intimidation or attack;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to provide the Special Rapporteur with the assistance and resources necessary for the effective fulfilment of the mandate;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to end reporting on the implementation of Human Rights Council decision 2/113 of 27 November 2006 and Council resolution 14/15 of 18 June 2010, and requests the Office of the High Commissioner to enhance its monitoring and reporting on the overall situation of human rights in Afghanistan, and to update the Council thereon on an intersessional basis, as deemed necessary, and to present, under agenda item 2, a comprehensive report, including an analysis and recommendations on the institutional protection of human rights, to the Council at its fifty-fourth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue;

Urges all relevant special procedure mandate holders and invites treaty bodies to closely monitor and reflect on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan within the scope of their respective mandates;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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