New Construction along the Turkey-Iran border between 13 July and 8 September. 2021. Planet Labs.
An additional obstacle for Afghan people seeking to flee abroad seems to be the lack of passports. According to the Afghan researcher who spoke to Amnesty International, Afghan authorities currently do not deliver passports and Afghan people are not allowed to cross border without passports.199 The right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution in other countries is enshrined in international law.200 Therefore, closing borders to asylum seekers violates neighbouring countries’ legal obligations.
8. CONCLUSIONS
The current situation in Afghanistan is a moment of reckoning – a moment when the human rights gains that the Afghan people have built over two decades is at risk of collapse. In this report, Amnesty International, OMCT, and FIDH have outlined some of the immediate human rights concerns that have arisen following the Taliban’s takeover. The incidents of human rights violations documented in this report are merely a small selection of incidents taking place in Afghanistan, given the fear of reporting, lack of mobile phone connectivity in many provinces, and in recent days, the shutdown of internet connectivity in parts of Kabul. The human rights situation in Afghanistan is dire. Despite the image the Taliban tried to portray of themselves as a reformed group that will protect the rights of women and guarantee freedom of expression, it has becoming increasingly clear that those guarantees are already failing, merely weeks into their takeover of the country. Reports of killings, torture, and the cutting off of essential supplies to civilians in Panjshir where active conflict is ongoing, are evidence of war crimes committed by the Taliban. Women’s rights are already being infringed upon, with women being barred from working 199
Phone interview, 2 September, Kabul. Amnesty International.
Art. 14, Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Convention relating to the status of refugees. 1951. Protocol relating to the status of refugees of. 1967. 200
THE FATE OF THOUSANDS HANGING IN THE BALANCE: AFGHANISTAN’S FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE TALIBAN
Amnesty International
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