U.N. official warns Afghanistan’s rights crisis could worsen as Taliban mark five years back in power

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers marked the fifth anniversary of their return to power on Saturday with a ceremony at the Loya Jirga assembly hall in Kabul, where Taliban officials and other government figures gathered to commemorate what they described as an end to decades of upheaval and the arrival of stability under their administration. The gathering included statements by Taliban leadership and Afghan officials attending the traditional forum, with the focus on the past five years and the course they say the country has taken since 2021.

In remarks reported alongside the anniversary events, a United Nations official warned that Afghanistan is approaching a serious rights crisis. The U.N. representative described an environment in which restrictions and abuses have continued, and characterized the trajectory as concerning for the protection of fundamental rights in the coming period.

The U.N. official’s warning was presented in the context of the Taliban leadership’s public effort to mark the anniversary and showcase its governance narrative, including that security has improved after years of conflict involving multiple factions. At the same time, Saturday’s events highlighted the gap between Taliban statements about stability and international concerns about the civil and political rights of ordinary Afghans.

Rights groups and many international officials have previously raised alarms about limitations affecting women, girls, and other groups in Afghanistan, as well as broader concerns about freedom of movement, accountability, and due process. In the account tied to the anniversary, the U.N. representative did not frame the warning as a one-off event, but as a continuing problem that could worsen if conditions persist.

The Loya Jirga, a traditional Afghan assembly, has often been used by Afghan leaders to report major national messages. Saturday’s gathering was therefore not only ceremonial, but also political, occurring as the Taliban continue to manage Afghanistan’s internal governance in isolation from broad international engagement. The event underscored the Taliban’s interest in projecting legitimacy and describing their rule as a settled chapter in the country’s recent history.

The U.N. official’s message also pointed to the role of international monitoring and diplomacy, with United Nations representatives continuing to press for compliance with basic human rights obligations. The anniversary events, occurring amid ongoing humanitarian strain and governance restrictions, leave the question of whether authorities will respond to international warnings, including any concrete steps to improve conditions.

What happens next depends largely on how Taliban authorities address the U.N. warning publicly and in practice, including whether they will alter policies that have been criticized by the international community. For the United Nations and member states, the coming months are likely to test whether rights concerns will be treated as a central priority during Afghanistan’s fifth-year milestone and beyond.

Azerbaijan