UN Report Exposes Taliban Committing Abuses Amid Mass Refugee Returns from Iran and Pakistan

Author: Aamnah Fatima Khan

July 28, 2025

HRRC commends the United Nations report for exposing grave abuses in Afghanistan but urges concrete international action to uphold human rights for all, especially returnees. We strongly condemn the Taliban’s systematic repression, including torture and arbitrary detention, as blatant violations of international law.

Afghan refugees rest at a makeshift camp upon their arrival from Pakistan, near the Afghanistan-Pakistan Torkham border in Nangarhar province on November 2, 2023. [Image credit: Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images]

A new United Nations (UN) report has raised alarm over ongoing human rights violations in Afghanistan, particularly against those forcibly returned from neighboring countries. The UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) jointly released the report, which emphasises the "multi-layered human rights crisis" that is developing as the Taliban utilises torture, arbitrary arrest, and threats to personal safety to target specific groups.

According to the UN, over 1.9 million Afghans have been deported from Iran and Pakistan in 2025 alone, with the overwhelming majority returning from Iran. By the end of the year, up to three million returnees are anticipated, which will worsen the already severe humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. Women and girls, journalists, former government and security officials, and members of civil society are among the deportees; these groups are particularly susceptible to reprisal by the de facto Taliban authorities.

Testimonies from 49 returnees show a sobering reality, despite the Taliban’s claim of offering amnesty to former enemies. Numerous people have been executed, forced into hiding, or tortured. A female former television journalist claimed to be under de facto house arrest and to have been denied the opportunity to work or pursue further education beyond the sixth grade.

A fundamental tenet of international refugee law, the principle of non-refoulement, has been violated by Pakistan and Iran through increased deportations. Nearly 700,000 Afghans, many of whom had been long-term immigrants without legal status, were forced to be deported by Iran in 2025. Conditions at the borders have been dreadful, particularly for children who have been taken from their families and placed in deportation camps without access to basic care..

The UN urges countries to perform individual evaluations before deportations and calls for an immediate end to forced repatriation. "Nobody should be sent back to a place where they face risk of persecution," stressed UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk, “especially women and girls who are subjected to systematic gender-based discrimination under Taliban control."

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Glossary 

• Anticipated – Expected or likely to happen

• Arbitrary arrests – Arrests made without fair reason or legal justification

• Blatant – Very obvious in a negative or offensive way

• Commends – Praises or expresses approval

• Concrete actions – Clear and definite steps or measures

• Condemns – Strongly criticizes something as wrong or bad

• De facto – Existing in fact, even if not officially recognized

• Deportation – The act of forcing someone to leave a country

• Deportees – People who are being or have been deported

• Detention – Keeping someone in custody, often by authorities

• Discrimination – Unfair treatment based on identity or background

• Dreadful – Terrible or very bad

• Execution – The act of killing someone, often as a punishment

• Immigrants – People who move to live in another country

• Non-refoulement – A principle that forbids sending refugees back to a country where they may face danger

• Persecution – Harsh treatment due to race, religion, or beliefs

• Reprisal – Punishment or retaliation for a past act

• Susceptible – Easily affected or at risk

• Systematic repressions – Organized and repeated efforts to silence or control people

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Sources

1. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2557615/taliban-committing-rights-violations-against-afghan-returnees-un 

2. https://www.fidh.org/en/region/asia/afghanistan/afghanistan-iran-pakistan-mass-refoulement-of-afghan-refugees-a 

3. https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/no-safe-haven-human-rights-risks-faced-persons-involuntarily-returned-afghanistan-july-2025-endarips 

4. https://unama.unmissions.org/afghanistan-un-report-documents-human-rights-violations-forced-returnees