At #HRC61, had the pleasure to meet with the foreign ministers of Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein to discuss Afghanistan. States should listen to the women of Afghanistan and do more to protect their rights.

I will be moderating this important side event on the People's Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan this week. Please join us if you are in Geneva: When: 26 February, 14:00-15:00 CET Where: Palais de Nations, Geneva

“Governments need to press the Taliban to end their horrific abuses while also alleviating Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis and extending protections to Afghan refugees,” said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch. www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Good riddance to rubbish policy. The end to the UK's "two child limit" social security policy has been announced, and it will soon be gone. We @hrw.org welcome the news, as one of many, many, many voices calling for an end to this arbitrary, cruel social security policy.

‘Extreem zorgwekkend,’ noemt Human Rights Watch-onderzoeker @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social de ontwikkeling. Die ziet ze als het ‘normaliseren van deportaties naar Afghanistan’. “Landen die lang in Afghanistan actief zijn geweest, proberen hun verantwoordelijkheden te negeren.”

"Without female staff, we cannot collectively serve returning women and children under conditions of dignity and respect.” Says a UN official in Afghanistan. www.newarab.com/news/un-susp...

The Taliban have gutted Afghan media since taking control of the country in August 2021. HRW's @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social details the harsh conditions and growing challenges journalists are facing in Afghanistan ⤵️

The Taliban have gutted Afghan media since taking control of the country in August 2021 through the use of surveillance and censorship and by punishing media workers for perceived criticism. bsky.app/profile/hrw....

To the Turkish Government: Ensure that Afghan journalists and other at-risk Afghans can apply for international protection or humanitarian residency permits. Ensure that exiled Afghan journalists in Türkiye can apply for and obtain work permits. www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

📢The Taliban have gutted Afghanistan’s media since taking control of the country in August 2021. They have subjected the remaining news outlets to surveillance and censorship, and punished journalists and other media workers for any perceived criticism. New from @hrw.org ⤵️

#Afghanistan 🇦🇫 @hrw.org highlighted the impact of the two-day internet shutdown imposed by the Taliban. “It harmed the livelihoods of millions & deprived them of their basic rights to education, health care & access to information.” @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social

Afghanistan: Taliban Tramples Media Freedom www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

Fereshta Abbasi called the announcement a “huge win” for Afghans. “It sends a strong message to the victims that their suffering is not erasable, that their pains are not forgettable, that the grave abuses and the culture of impunity has been broken." www.thepersistent.com/afghanistan-...

“The Taliban’s moves to cut internet access harms the livelihoods of millions of Afghans and deprives them of their basic rights to education, health care, and access to information. The Taliban should drop its baseless rationales and end these shutdowns.” - @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social / @hrw.org

“It’s crucial for the new mechanism to get up and running quickly so that it can begin to collect, prepare, and preserve evidence, and build files on those responsible for international crimes in Afghanistan.” - @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social, Afghanistan researcher @hrw.org

"Cela envoie un message fort aux victimes, aux femmes afghanes, (...) aux défenseurs des droits humains, en leur garantissant que les auteurs des graves abus commis en #Afghanistan seront un jour tenus responsables et traduits en justice" - @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social

„Die Mitglieder des UN-Menschenrechtsrats haben den Betroffenen, ihren Familien und all jenen, die mutig für Gerechtigkeit in Afghanistan kämpfen, die klare Botschaft gesendet, dass ihre Stimmen gehört wurden und dass ihr Leid weder unsichtbar noch auslöschbar ist“ @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social

Taliban and all perpetrators should have received the message - that they cannot commit grave abuses with impunity – they cannot silence or erase women and girls without consequence and that they will be held accountable for their abuses in Afghanistan. bsky.app/profile/hrw....

L'ONU a adopté une résolution historique prévoyant la création d'un mécanisme indépendant chargé d'enquêter sur les violations des droits humains passées et actuelles en #Afghanistan. 🎉 C'est une avancée significative pour briser le cycle de l'impunité dans le pays. www.hrw.org/fr/news/2025...

"Les femmes afghanes continuent de résister aux attaques contre leurs droits et nous devons nous tenir à leurs côtés en solidarité" @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social au Conseil des droits de l'homme de l'ONU pour demander la mise en place d'un mécanimse de reddition des comptes pour l'Aghanistan ⤵

For the past four years, the Taliban have intensified attacks on women and girls' rights in Afghanistan, amounting to what UN experts have labeled “gender apartheid.” The UN Human Rights Council should urgently establish an accountability mechanism to address impunity and advance justice.

More than 2,000 people have been killed following a deadly earthquake in Afghanistan. The Taliban have imposed rules that make it difficult for female aid workers to help with rescue efforts. Taliban authorities should ensure that women are involved in all relief work. bsky.app/profile/hrw....

Afghan women are leading the resistance against the Taliban. Watch my full interview with France 24 here: youtu.be/cmVj_MlLa70?...

When the Taliban were toppled from power in 2001, many women in Afghanistan kept wearing the burqa, even though they were no longer required to do so. rukhshana.com/en/taliban-a...

A year after the Taliban's new morality law came into force, fear looms in #Afghanistan as vice and virtue enforcers grapple with policing moral behavior. @kateclark66 hears from ordinary Afghans about how this law has affected their lives. bit.ly/4mBcj3V #WomensRights #HumanRights

The fourth anniversary of the Taliban takeover is a grim reminder of the gravity of the Taliban’s abuses, particularly against women and girls. All governments should support efforts to hold the Taliban & all those responsible for serious crimes in Afghanistan to account. bsky.app/profile/hrw....

Holding a 77-year-old man in prolonged solitary confinement while his health fails is outrageously cruel. Hong Kong should drop these baseless charges against Jimmy Lai now.

The national security trial in Hong Kong against Jimmy Lai, owner of the shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was again postponed on August 15, 2025, for health reasons. The following statement can be attributed to @elainepearson.bsky.social, Asia director @hrw.org

Today marks four years since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan. It's a somber anniversary for millions of Afghans who face oppression and fear — but it's also an anniversary of broken promises made by Western democracies, such as Germany.

Today, Afghanistan faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The fourth anniversary of the Taliban takeover is a grim reminder of the serious and widespread abuses in Afghanistan, but it’s also a call for action ⤵️

The anniversary of the Taliban's takeover is not just a date. It is a reminder of broken promises of the international community. Afghan women are resisting the Taliban—Germany should show the same courage instead of deporting Afghan refugees. @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

🚨 New from @hrw.org’s @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social “Afghan Women Are Resisting the Taliban” — She says it takes courage, a quality that Afghan women possess to an impressive degree. The German government should also find the courage to clearly condemn human rights violations in #Afghanistan.

Today, August 15, marks four years since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan. It is a somber anniversary for me and for the millions of fellow Afghans whose daily reality is marked by hunger, oppression and fear. bsky.app/profile/hrw....

The anniversary of the Taliban's takeover is not just a date – it is a reminder of the broken promises of the international community. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Heute ist es vier Jahre her, dass die Taliban in #Afghanistan wieder die Macht ergriffen haben. Es ist auch ein Jahrestag der gebrochenen Versprechen - ein Gastbeitrag in der @fr-zeitung.bsky.social von @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social: www.fr.de/meinung/gast...

„Als afghanische Frau sehe ich die systematischen Menschenrechtsverletzungen der Taliban gegen Frauen & Mädchen in Afghanistan als Angriff auf die Rechte von Frauen weltweit.“ - meine @hrw.org Kollegin @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social in der heutigen @fr-zeitung.bsky.social: www.fr.de/meinung/gast...

Meine Kollegin @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social heute Morgen in der @fr-zeitung.bsky.social mit einem starken Gastkommentar zur Situation in #Afghanistan. Afghanische Frauen widersetzen sich den Taliban. Deutschland sollte den gleichen Mut aufbringen.

Stand with the women of Afghanistan. If you live in one of these cities, join their protests and raise your voice alongside theirs as they chant: “Bread, work, freedom.” Their courage and resilience are an inspiration to the world.

The Taliban have deepened their repression by intensifying restrictions on the rights of women and girls. We at @hrw.org are committed to document these violations and push for accountability for the preparators of grave crimes. Afghans deserve justice and a dignified life.

August 15 will mark 4 years since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. In that time, repression has deepened, restrictions against women & girls have intensified. The Taliban’s abhorrent acts should compel governments to support accountability efforts. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

„Die globalen Auswirkungen der Machtübernahme durch die Taliban sind in den letzten vier Jahren immer deutlicher geworden. Kein Land sollte Menschen nach Afghanistan abschieben.“ @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social via @hrw.org www.hrw.org/de/news/2025...

The Taliban have deepened their repression since taking over Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, by intensifying restrictions on the rights of women and girls, detaining journalists, and silencing all dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Four years after the Taliban takeover, Human Rights Watch and The Conduit bring together a panel to examine the challenges faced by Afghanistan today. www.theconduit.com/upcoming-eve...

Join us to discuss the human rights crisis in Afghanistan with UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan @richardbennett.bsky.social and my @hrw.org colleague @fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social at @theconduitlondon.bsky.social on August 5th, 6pm www.theconduit.com/upcoming-eve...

Human Rights Watch is holding a press briefing to discuss the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. When: Tuesday, August 5, at 9:00 a.m. EDT If you are a journalist covering Afghanistan, please register for this event. hrworg.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... This feels strange to listen in to. Angry tears have been cried. To be gaslit and validated in one swift debate. We failed and forgot the #Afghans

All States should support this crucial call by Afghan women, for women around the world. They should make it a priority to actively work to ensure the inclusion of gender apartheid in international law, including in the draft crimes against humanity treaty. www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

Today, 8 July 2025 the International Criminal Court has issued warrants of arrest for Mr Haibatullah Akhundzada Supreme Leader of the Taliban, and Mr. Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Chief Justice of the Taliban, who have exercised de facto authority in Afghanistan from 15 August 2021.

Germany’s interior minister wants to negotiate directly with the Taliban to send Afghan migrants deported from Germany back to Afghanistan. Deporting anyone to a place where they face risk of abuse shows a blatant disregard for basic human decency.