The Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on rights in areas under their control in Afghanistan, despite claims of reform, the Human Rights Watch report said.
The HRW report issued on Tuesday, says residents reported “an inability to criticize or question Taliban actions, violations of the rights of women and girls, and also “severe limits on freedom of expression and the media.”
Rights abuses by both the Taliban and government forces mean that the United States and other countries supporting the peace process “should ensure that any agreement has strong human rights commitments and enforcement mechanisms,” the report says.
The 69-page report, “‘You Have No Right to Complain’: Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in Taliban-Held Afghanistan,” focuses on the everyday experiences of people living in Taliban-held districts and Taliban restrictions on education, access to information and media, and freedom of movement.
The report says that “the Taliban’s widespread rights abuses in areas it controls raise concerns about their willingness and ability to keep commitments on rights in any future peace agreement.”
“The Taliban have rolled back some of their harshest measures in areas they control, but it remains difficult and dangerous for people to voice objections to Taliban authorities,” said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Taliban appear intent on ruling by fear, without holding themselves accountable to communities under their control.”
Taliban forces currently control a significant portion of Afghanistan’s land and population, according to the report.
In many of these areas, the report says, residents abide by a parallel set of government laws and Taliban-imposed regulations that govern education, courts, and other services, and establish or reinforce codes of conduct.
While there has been “progress on access to education for girls and women in Taliban-held areas,” there has been “little regard for rights to freedom of expression, information, association, privacy, or media freedom,” the report said.
Although the Taliban officially state that they no longer oppose girls’ education, very few local Taliban authorities actually permit girls to attend school past puberty, and some do not permit girls’ schools at all. Policies apparently based on individual commanders’ personal views have left residents wary.
One teacher quoted in the report said, “Today they tell you that they allow girls up to sixth grade, but tomorrow, when someone else comes instead, he might not like girls’ education.”
“Social controls, embodied in ‘morality’ officials who work for ‘vice and virtue’ departments, operate in Taliban-held districts to enforce residents’ adherence to Taliban-prescribed social codes regarding dress and public deportment, beard length, and men’s attendance at Friday prayers,” the report said.
Taliban officials have said the social restrictions reflect local community norms.
However, while such restrictions exist in both government and Taliban-held areas, some residents, particularly younger people, have resisted these constraints as they seek greater freedom, the report says.
“Taliban officials have punished residents who engage in prohibited social behavior. The Taliban justice system is focused on punishment and largely relies on confessions, often obtained by beatings and other forms of torture,” according to the report.
Residents of Taliban-held districts say that Taliban officials have “not allowed them to air grievances or express concerns.”
The Taliban claim that they hold commanders and other authorities accountable for abuses, but “in practice Taliban officials have seldom considered practices amounting to war crimes, including unlawful attacks that have killed civilians, to be wrongful acts,” says Human Rights Watch.
“The Taliban publicly claim that they don’t put civilians in harm’s way but have punished residents who complain about Taliban forces entering their homes to attack government troops,” Gossman said.
The current Afghan constitution and laws enacted since 2002 include many human rights protections, including gender equality, but implementation in government-controlled areas has been poor, the report finds.
“Government forces have committed serious human rights abuses, including torture, and have often failed to protect women’s rights,” the report says, adding that “both the Taliban and current and former government leaders have been implicated in war crimes and other abuses.”
There is “near total impunity for serious violations,” the report concludes.