UN Report Highlights Escalating Violence, Humanitarian Crisis, and Gender Persecution in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has submitted his quarterly report on Afghanistan to the UN Security Council, revealing a troubling escalation in security incidents in 2024.

The latest report reveals a sharp 39% rise in security incidents in Afghanistan compared to the same period in 2023. During this timeframe, anti-Taliban armed groups launched 81 attacks against the Taliban, while the Islamic State–Khorasan Province (ISKP) executed six assaults targeting both Taliban forces and civilians.

UN reports a 39% increase in security incidents in Afghanistan, with ISKP targeting civilians and Taliban forces.

From August 1 to October 31, 2024, 2,510 security incidents were documented across Afghanistan. The report highlights ongoing atrocities by the Taliban, including the killing, arrest, and mistreatment of former officials and military personnel.

It also paints a grim picture of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where approximately 23.7 million people face severe challenges such as food insecurity, malnutrition, and displacement.

Guterres noted that as of November 11, 2024, the Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan had received only 37.5% of its $3.06 billion funding request, marking a significant decline in international financial support.

Guterres further emphasized that Taliban-imposed restrictions and interference are hampering humanitarian operations, urging the group to end its obstruction of critical aid efforts.

The United Nations report underscores the worsening insecurity faced by the Afghan people in the aftermath of the US withdrawal, highlighting a sharp rise in violence and instability.

Afghanistan faces a severe humanitarian crisis, with 23.7 million people experiencing food insecurity and malnutrition.

This report also highlights ongoing abuses by the Taliban, including killings, arrests, and mistreatment of former government officials and military personnel. Additionally, it underscores growing international condemnation of the Taliban’s systematic gender discrimination, escalating gender-based violence, and widespread human rights violations.

Fourteen nations, including several Security Council members, have warned that these actions may constitute gender-based persecution under international law.

During this period, anti-Taliban forces launched 81 attacks, though they failed to challenge the Taliban’s territorial control significantly. The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) was responsible for 56 of these attacks, while the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) conducted 18.

Additionally, the People’s Sovereignty Front and the Afghanistan Liberation Movement (ALM) each carried out one attack.

Despite the Taliban’s claim of consolidating control, anti-Taliban resistance groups, such as the National Resistance Front and the Afghanistan Freedom Front, persist in their operations, further destabilizing the security landscape.

Meanwhile, the resurgence of terrorist groups like the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) exacerbates fears of escalating violence, particularly as ISK-P targets both Taliban forces and civilians.

Compounded by systemic human rights abuses, economic hardship, and gender-based persecution under the Taliban regime, the Afghan people remain trapped in a dire and deteriorating security environment.

Taliban-imposed restrictions hinder aid operations, contributing to a significant decline in international financial support for Afghanistan.

Since the withdrawal of US-led forces from Afghanistan in August 2021, the Afghan people have been put through severe torture at the hands of the Taliban regime. The regaining of power by the Taliban has rolled many steps backward, particularly for the women and the minority community.

Women have been strictly prohibited and restricted in their rights within the Taliban’s strict Sharia law. For more than three years, girls have not attended secondary schools, and women have been barred from being admitted to university; consequently, they have never pursued higher learning and therefore no professional career path. And more than that, women have been disenfranchised from any activity in public life, including working in NGOs and, more importantly, in government.

Human rights abuses have increased, with arbitrary detentions, torture, and executions targeting those linked to the former government or perceived as opponents of the Taliban regime.

Freedom of expression has all but vanished, with journalists and activists suffering severe reprisals for dissent. Many media outlets have been forced to close down, and numerous journalists have fled the country fearing for their lives.

Afghanistan’s economy has plunged into crisis, marked by widespread poverty and acute malnutrition. The lack of international recognition for the Taliban government, combined with sanctions, has crippled the economy, resulting in mass unemployment and the suspension of foreign aid that once sustained vital health and education services.

The health sector is on its knees due to extreme shortages of supplies and manpower. The lack of female service providers has been an added plight, worsening access for women, children, and families, who have relied on female doctors and nurses simply because of cultural requirements.

Gender-based persecution under the Taliban sparks global condemnation, with 14 nations warning it may constitute violations of international law.

Persecution of ethnic minorities has been intensified, mainly through forced evictions targeted violence against the Hazara people, and systematic marginalization of various communities. Such policies have created an explosion in internal displacement and migration, as many move out for safety or better living conditions.

Active conflicts have ceased elsewhere in the region, yet relatively peaceful conditions persist; threats against their people remain precarious. These threats do not make lives for ordinary Afghans more secure because insurgencies like ISKP continually place the lives of other groups in severe danger.

The US forces’ withdrawal has placed Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, which has unwound two decades of gains, placing the nation deep in a humanitarian crisis with little hope of ever recovering.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.