Taliban’s draconian conduct against
rights groups, including arrests, torture, or
killings of HRDs, forcing them to go into
hiding, live under surveillance, and or flee
the country.19 Women-led NGOs and CSOs
have been particularly targeted by the
Taliban. In December 2022, for instance,
the Ministry of Economy ordered NGOs
and INGOs, including the UN agencies,
not to allow female employees to work,
threatening to revoke their registration for
non-compliance.20 Several INGOs operating
in the country paused their operations as a
result. Later, some INGOs partially resumed
their operations, however, this system of
exclusion has negatively affected women
staff in the context of a severe economic
and humanitarian crises.
Likewise, political parties have no legal
ground to operate now under the Taliban,
with the previously enacted Parties
Law being abolished altogether. In fact,
Afghanistan is now an effective one-party
structure ruled by a group of (radical)
men, the vast majority of whom are
from the Pashtun ethnic group.21 Other
ethnic communities and even moderate
individuals belonging to the Pashtun
community cannot exercise their political
choice under the Taliban. After seizing
power, the Taliban have effectively reestablished their enigmatic outdated
political system known as the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan that is ruled by a
life-long supreme leader, holding absolute
authority.
This political system is mainly characterised
by autocratic and patriarchal-totalitarian
tendencies,
personalised
governance,
combined with a systematic disregard
19
Freedom House, Anne C. Richard., ‘A Year
after Taliban’s Return, Afghanistan’s Civil Society Vanguard Still Needs the World’s Help’, 11 August, 2022,
https://shorturl.at/BCenz
Global Protection Cluster, ‘Afghanistan Pro20
tection Analysis Update’, 7 March, 2023, https://shorturl.
at/rEM3y
Freedom House, ‘Afghanistan: Political and
21
Civil Liberties’, 2023 , https://rb.gy/j1gx3a
12
for the rule of law and human rights. All
major decisions, policymaking, allocation
of resources, and selection of officials are
opaquely undertaken by the supreme
leader. Due to its primarily Pashtun ethnicbeased structure, the Islamic Emirate has
effectively disenfranchised and sidelined
other ethnic groups from key decisions
and political participation.
Meanwhile, individuals who have called
for equal rights, including the right to
political participation have been forcibly
silenced. A notable example is the peaceful
protests, often led by women demanding
political rights and equalities, which have
been effectively quelled by the Taliban.
In this context, the absence of legal
frameworks and protection mechanisms
have severely diminished the ability of
ethnic groups, religious minorities, women
and individuals outside the Taliban’s
system of governance to have a voice
in political processes and decisions. The
existing circumstance reinforces the
country’s already long-standing cycle of
marginalisation, impunity, and injustice.
3. Freedom of Expression and Beliefs
The rights to freedom of expression and
belief are among fundamental human
rights, guaranteed under the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR). For example, Article 19
of the ICCPR reiterates, “Everyone shall
have the right to freedom of expression;
this rights shall include freedom to seek,
receive, and impart information and ideas
of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either
orally, in writing or in print, in the form
of art, or through any other media of his
choice.”22 Article 18 of ICCPR insures the
right to freedom of thought, conscience,
and religion, which includes both the
22
UN: Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights’, 19 December, 1966, https://shorturl.at/eW8Rl