Search Results

Sort by
News

Explosive Weapons Attacks on Afghanistan Schools Increase

Attacks on Education Rose 33 Percent Globally, Prompting Calls for Urgent Action

(New York) – Explosive weapons were used to attack about 40 schools in Afghanistan during the first six months of 2021, as Taliban forces took over key territories, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) said in a report…
The mother of a schoolgirl who was among those killed in the brutal May 8, 2021 bombing of the Sayed ul-Shuhada girls' school stands inside a classroom with bouquets of flowers on empty desks as a tribute to the dead, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 16, 2021. 
News

What Brazil Can Do to Help Afghans at Risk

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans have been fleeing threats of reprisal and persecution by seeking refuge abroad. Taliban officials have issued vague and doubtful pledges about respecting human rights. Credible reports…
Afghans from northern provinces who fled their homes due to the fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security forces take refuge in a public parc in Kabul, August 13, 2021. 
News

Afghanistan: Humanitarian Crisis Needs Urgent Response

Rising Hunger; Collapsing Education, Health Systems

(New York) – Afghanistan’s foreign donors should take immediate action to ensure that necessary aid reaches Afghans facing hunger and collapsing health services following the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. They…
Afghans wait for hours to try to withdraw money from a bank in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 30, 2021. 
News

Afghans Stuck at Poland’s Border Need Protection

Polish Authorities Should Allow Access to Territory and Asylum Process

While Poland’s government touts its role in the airlift of at-risk Afghans from Kabul, it has trapped 32 Afghans for over 3 weeks at its border with Belarus, preventing them from entering Poland to exercise their right to seek asylum and denying them…
Polish security forces surround migrants at the border with Belarus in Usnarz Gorny, Poland on September 1, 2021. 
News

EU’s Cold-Hearted Response to Afghans at Risk

Dodging Responsibility with Hostile Rhetoric and Harmful Policies

Instead of showing leadership and compassion for people fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan, European Union leaders seem bent on a monstrous PR campaign to tell Afghans (and European voters) that those fleeing Afghanistan should not even think about…
Polish soldiers build a fence with concertina wire at the border with Belarus in Krynki, Poland, on August 27, 2021.
News

How the International Community Can Protect Afghan Women and Girls

Now that evacuations from Kabul’s airport have ended and the last foreign troops have gone, the focus shifts to the long-term human rights crisis in Afghanistan. The issue is what life will be like in Afghanistan—especially for women and girls—and what…
Women gather to demand their rights under Taliban rule during a protest in Kabul, Afghanistan on September 3, 2021.
News

UN Security Council: Renew Afghanistan Mission

Bolster Rights Monitoring; Ensure Sanctions Don’t Impede Humanitarian Aid

(New York) - The United Nations Security Council should renew the UN mission in Afghanistan and bolster its capacity to monitor, investigate, and report on human rights abuses in the country since the Taliban takeover, Human Rights Watch said today.…
22 اگست، 2021 کو کابل، کے نواحی علاقے وزیر اکبر خان میں ایک چیک پوسٹ پر طالبان جنگجو ڈیوٹی دے رہے ہیں۔
News

Preserve Evidence of Potential Rights Abuses in Afghanistan

(New York) – Human Rights Watch joined Access Now, Amnesty International USA, and Mnemonic today in issuing the following statement, saying that social media platforms need to preserve and archive content that may provide evidence of past or ongoing…
The YouTube video sharing application is seen on an iPhone with the symbol for unavailable content in the background in this photo illustration
News

‘The Taliban Are Looking for Me’

Many Unable to Flee Afghanistan Face Grave Risks

Yesterday’s bombing at Kabul’s international airport has drastically curtailed evacuation flights for at-risk Afghans. The effort was already winding down, after getting out some human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, journalists,…
Two men hold guns while riding in the back of a truck through a city street
News

Attack at Kabul Airport Ends Civilian Evacuation

International Community Needs to Increase Efforts to Help Afghans at Risk

A set of bombing attacks at the southeast gate of Kabul’s international airport on Thursday killed over 60 Afghans and at least 12 US soldiers, and wounded many more. The airport’s gates have reportedly now been closed, apparently bringing an end to…
Smoke rises from an explosion outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 26, 2021.
News

Evacuate At-Risk Afghans

August 31 Departure Leaves Many Fearing Persecution Behind

Thousands of Afghans fearing persecution by the Taliban remain waiting outside Kabul’s airport, or sheltering in their homes, hoping be evacuated out of Afghanistan. But the United States-led multinational airlift is about to wrap up.…
People inside an aircraft line up to disembark
News

UN Rights Body should urgently create rights monitoring body on Afghanistan

Human Rights Watch statement to HRC Special Session on Afghanistan

For years, the people of Afghanistan have faced violations and abuses by all parties to the conflict. In recent weeks, abuses by the Taliban have escalated. Even before their takeover of Kabul on August 15, Taliban forces were already committing…
22 اگست، 2021 کو کابل، کے نواحی علاقے وزیر اکبر خان میں ایک چیک پوسٹ پر طالبان جنگجو ڈیوٹی دے رہے ہیں۔
News

Europe: Lead Efforts to Protect At-Risk Afghans

European States Should Set Example on Asylum, Resettlement

(Brussels) – The European Union, the United Kingdom, and other European countries should lead global efforts to urgently facilitate safe passage from Afghanistan of civilians at risk from the Taliban, Human Rights Watch said today. This includes human…
Several Afghans sit on the tarmac awaiting to leave from Kabul's airport on August 16, 2021.
News

UN Rights Body Needs to Investigate Abuses in Afghanistan

Human Rights Council’s Credibility Hinges on Taking Strong Action at Emergency Session

As reports mount of grave human rights abuses by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session this week. It should immediately mandate the strongest possible monitoring mechanism. Before their…
22 اگست، 2021 کو کابل، کے نواحی علاقے وزیر اکبر خان میں ایک چیک پوسٹ پر طالبان جنگجو ڈیوٹی دے رہے ہیں۔
News

How Australia Should Help Afghans Living in Fear

Ahmad, an Afghan Australian, was already feeling exhausted after weeks of strict lockdown in a Western Sydney suburb, as he and his wife worked from home and home-schooled their four children. Then on August 15, Ahmad, like many Afghans abroad,…
Afghanistan evacuees arrive at Australia’s main operating base in the Middle East
News

How to Safely Evacuate Afghans at Risk Before It's Too Late

Time is running out for tens of thousands of Afghans trying to flee the Taliban after their takeover of the country.  President Joe Biden stated on Friday that military forces stationed at Kabul airport have a “mission to…
Afghan families get off the Spanish military plane at the Torrejón de Ardoz military base in Madrid. The flight that left Kabul was carrying five Spaniards and 48 Afghan refugees, including 10 minors. 
News

Joint Letter to President Biden on Afghanistan Evacuations

President Joseph  R.  Biden 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Biden: We the undersigned represent a diverse collection of organizations and individuals deeply committed to the rights, safety,…
News

Should Anyone Believe Taliban Pledges to Respect Women’s Rights?

In a news conference on Tuesday, the first since the Taliban gained control of the Afghan capital, Kabul, the official Taliban spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid sought to reassure women. “Our sisters, our men have the same rights,” he said. “They are…
Women walking Nadir Khan Overlooking Kabul womens rights us withdrawl