The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk Remarks to Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on Afghanistan
These edicts are being codified into an ever wider de facto legal framework.
“A new decree, signed by the Taliban leader last month, defines several crimes and punishments that contravene Afghanistan’s international legal obligations,” he said.
“The decree, which is expected to come into effect soon, extends the number of offences that carry the death penalty. It provides for the use of corporal punishment for numerous offences, including in the home, legitimizing violence against women and children. And it criminalizes criticism of the de facto leadership and their policies, in violation of freedom of expression and assembly.”
The High Commissioner urged the de facto authorities to rescind the decree and to bring all legal measures into line with their international obligations.
Afghanistan’s women and girls face extreme gender-based discrimination and oppression that amounts to persecution. The system of segregation is reminiscent of apartheid, based on gender rather than race.
“The de facto authorities have, in effect, criminalized the presence of women and girls in public life. They are banned from secondary education and above, and from most employment. Discrimination affects their healthcare, their access to civic space, and their freedom of movement and expression,” Türk said.
“In recent months, the de facto authorities have used the Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to crack down on men’s beards; compel strict wearing of women’s hijab; implement the requirement for women to be accompanied by a male guardian; prohibit music and images of living beings; and enforce mandatory prayers,” he said.
Since 7 September 2025, the de facto authorities have prevented Afghan women, including UN staff, contractors and visitors, from entering the United Nations’ own premises across the country. These restrictions are unprecedented, and shocking.
Public executions continued in Afghanistan, in violation of international law.
The Afghan media operate under censorship and financial strain. They are forbidden from broadcasting music and drama, or publishing any content the de facto authorities deem contrary to Afghan culture and their own interpretation of sharia law. Women journalists face almost impossible obstacles to carrying out their important work.
Millions of Afghans live in utter poverty, deprived of their right to adequate food, clean water, and access to education, healthcare and employment.
“Significant numbers of refugees continue to return to Afghanistan, most of them forced back by neighbouring countries, particularly Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The vast majority arrive with few belongings, little access to healthcare and education, and no job prospects,” the High Commissioner said.
He said he was disturbed by reports that several more countries are taking steps to return Afghan refugees involuntarily.
The international community needs to find ways to encourage the de facto authorities to meet Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations. Accountability is essential, and there has been some progress, with the issuance in July 2025 of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court. The High Commissioner urged other States to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute violations of international law committed by their forces during decades of conflict in Afghanistan.
“I fully support efforts to codify gender apartheid, among other crimes, in the proposed Treaty for the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity. Defining gender apartheid is essential to ending it,” he said.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact
In Geneva:
Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Jeremy Laurence: +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Tag and share - X: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk addresses Human Rights Council on Afghanistan
TRT: 02:55
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 February 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Various exterior shots: Palais des Nations
- Interior shots: Assembly Hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights. The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the de facto authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “A new decree, signed by the Taliban leader last month, defines several crimes and punishments that contravene Afghanistan’s international legal obligations.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The decree, which is expected to come into effect soon, extends the number of offences that carry the death penalty. It provides for the use of corporal punishment for numerous offences, including in the home, legitimizing violence against women and children. And it criminalizes criticism of the de facto leadership and their policies, in violation of freedom of expression and assembly.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The de facto authorities have, in effect, criminalized the presence of women and girls in public life. They are banned from secondary education and above, and from most employment. Discrimination affects their healthcare, their access to civic space, and their freedom of movement and expression.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “In recent months, the de facto authorities have used the Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to crack down on men’s beards; compel strict wearing of women’s hijab; implement the requirement for women to be accompanied by a male guardian; prohibit music and images of living beings; and enforce mandatory prayers.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Significant numbers of refugees continue to return to Afghanistan, most of them forced back by neighbouring countries, particularly Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The vast majority arrive with few belongings, little access to healthcare and education, and no job prospects.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “I fully support efforts to codify gender apartheid, among other crimes, in the proposed Treaty for the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity. Defining gender apartheid is essential to ending it.”
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
As hostilities worsen in Yemen, more people have been fleeing their homes, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis within the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.