Human Rights Watch Urges Taliban to Release Detained UN, Aid Workers

Human Rights Watch has urged Taliban authorities to immediately release two UN employees and six NGO workers detained in Afghanistan in recent weeks, raising fresh concerns over restrictions on humanitarian operations.

HRW said six male staff members of the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation (WCLRF) were forcibly disappeared after being detained in Kabul last month. The organisation runs aid programmes and works on issues concerning women’s and children’s rights.

In a separate case, two Afghan employees of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) were detained by Taliban intelligence officials in Herat on Sunday. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters he was seeking more information about the detentions but had not received definitive details.

The UN confirmed that two of its staff members had been detained. UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said UNAMA had not been told why they were being held and had not been allowed to visit them. HRW Afghanistan researcher Fereshta Abbasi warned that the detention of UNAMA personnel could undermine the UN’s ability to provide lifesaving assistance in the country.

The UN mission monitors human rights and gathers information on Afghanistan, activities that have previously drawn criticism from the Taliban authorities.

According to HRW, Taliban security forces raided the WCLRF office in Kabul on June 21, confiscated staff belongings and sealed the premises. Six senior male employees were later detained on July 18 after being summoned to the office, reportedly to retrieve their confiscated belongings.

HRW said the families of the detained men have received no information about their whereabouts, health or possible charges.

The latest detentions come days before the Taliban marks five years since returning to power. Afghanistan continues to rely heavily on international aid, although assistance has declined amid wider cuts in foreign funding. Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly accused the Taliban of restricting their activities and creating obstacles to aid delivery.