Five years after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan , United Nation experts have warned that the regime’s “highly restrictive policies are reshaping every aspect of life in Afghanistan, with devastating consequences for children and young people.”
The United Nations General Assembly in 1989 adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Young people form a majority of the Afghan demographic, and according to a new report by UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, “Taliban’s institutionalised system of discrimination, repression and ideological control is depriving children of their fundamental rights to inclusive and quality education, to express themselves, and to participate meaningfully in social and public life. The 196 countries, who are signatories to the Convention must “ensure the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of child victims of armed conflict,” as per a 2025 report on ‘Rights of the child and violations of the human rights of children in armed conflicts’ “This duty applies regardless of whether the State bears direct responsibility for the child’s victimization and must be fulfilled in a manner that respects the child’s dignity, health and self-respect. “The Taliban’s restrictions on media, culture and freedom of expression are limiting the diversity of ideas and experiences available to children and young people,” Mr. Bennett further said.
“For girls in particular, the systematic denial of education is closing doors that may never reopen, with serious consequences for their mental health and the country’s development as a whole.
“Afghanistan’s children are growing up in an environment where discrimination, especially against girls and women, is being normalised, they are denied the right to learn and their opportunities for the future are dramatically shrinking,” Mr. Bennett said, as per a press release. “These policies are not only violating children’s rights today – they are undermining their ability to determine their own futures,” the Special Rapporteur said. By dismantling the legal framework and weakening and repurposing institutions that previously protected and promoted children’s rights, the Taliban has exposed Afghan children to violence, abuse and exploitation, the he said. “Five years of restrictive rule and socio-economic collapse have fundamentally altered the conditions in which Afghanistan’s children are growing up,” Mr. Bennett said. “The international community must act now to protect their rights and ensure that present and future generations are not deprived of the opportunity to shape Afghanistan’s future.”
