Human Rights Violations in the Taliban’s Afghanistan

HRRL presents the report "Revenge Killings and Other Serious Human Rights Violations in Afghanistan in the Aftermath of the Taliban’s Seizure of Power." The findings will be discussed by Afghanistan experts such as Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, and HRW researcher Fereshta Abbasi. Two years ago, the Taliban took over control of Kabul and thus re-established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Despite promises to the contrary, kidnappings, arbitrary detentions, revenge killings and other human rights violations became the order of the day – amidst an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. This conference presents the key findings of a research project conducted by Human Rights Research League (HRRL), documenting revenge killings and other serious violations of Human Rights since the Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan. The research report details victim profiles, categories, frequencies, and patterns of crime, and exemplifies the complexity of the situation with the help of actual cases, based on 400+ on the ground interviews in all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces in addition to other sources of information. The presentation will be followed by commentaries to and discussions of the report’s findings as well as of other current and future challenges in Afghanistan and how states should deal with the Taliban government on the world stage. The conference will ultimately try to look ahead and discuss what’s in store for the people of Afghanistan and to what extent and at what cost engagement with or disengagement from the de facto authorities may be justified. The Taliban talks in Oslo will also be the case to discuss state power of opinion, opinion formation and discourse management in defining and defending foreign policy choices.