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By United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan’s
License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO
Following their takeover of Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, the de facto authorities announced what they termed a “general amnesty” for former officials of the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and former members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). In the almost two years since, senior de facto officials have repeatedly, publicly, expressed their commitment to the general amnesty, calling for it to be upheld and for breaches to be investigated and for those found responsible to be punished. During this period, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has recorded credible reports of hundreds of human rights violations – including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions and torture and ill-treatment – carried out by the de facto authorities against former government officials and ANDSF members. There is limited information regarding efforts by the de facto authorities to conduct investigations and hold perpetrators of these human rights violations to account. While the announcement of the general amnesty was a welcome step, the de facto authorities’ failure to fully enforce their publicly stated commitment to it, and to uphold their obligations under international human rights law, has the potential to seriously impact both the cohesion and stability of Afghan society and the prospects for securing lasting peace in the country.
Keywords: De facto authorities, General amnesty, Human rights violations, ANDSF (Afghan National Defense and Security Forces), Accountability and impunity, Peace and stability in Afghanistan