It is the first major human rights report since Taliban seized power from the former US-backed government in August
\nkabul
\nNearly 400 civilians have been killed in attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, more than 80% of them by a group affiliated to Islamic State, a UN report shows, underscoring the scale of the insurgency faced by the new rulers.
\nIt is the first major human rights report since the Taliban seized power from the former US-backed government in August, triggering concerns in the West about a broader rollback of rights for women, journalists and others.
\nIt covers the period from August 2021 to the end of February and said that 397 civilians were killed mostly in a series of attacks by the Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) group.
\nMore than 50 people with suspected ties to the extreme militant group had been killed in the same period, it said, with some tortured and beheaded and cast by the roadside.
\n\u201cThe human rights situation for many Afghans is of profound concern,\u201d said Michelle Bachelet, High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a speech introducing the report to the top rights body in Geneva.
\nISIS-K, which first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014, is thought to have spread in the wake of the Taliban takeover and is blamed for several suicide attacks in recent months, including one at Kabul airport last August.
\nIn the same speech, Bachelet said that Taliban rulers had curtailed women\u2019s rights and freedoms. She called for women to be allowed to \u201cfully participate\u201d in public life.
\nBachelet also referred to \u201ca number of disturbing cases of enforced disappearances\u201d of activists and protesters and expressed concern about restrictions on freedom of expression.
\n\u201cI remain concerned by the progressive erosion of civic space,\u201d she said.
\nUnder their previous rule from 1996 to 2001, Taliban barred women and girls from education. They say they have since changed.
\nThe Geneva-based Rights Council is set to appoint a special rapporteur on Afghanistan to probe alleged violations by Taliban and others at the end of its current month-long session.
\nUS ambassador Sheba Crocker told the Council on Monday that this would be an \u201cimportant mechanism for documenting abuses\u201d and urged the Taliban to cooperate with its team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It is the first major human rights report since Taliban seized power from the former US-backed government in August kabul Nearly 400 civilians have been killed in attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, more than 80% of them by a group affiliated to Islamic State, a UN report shows, underscoring the scale of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75,4767,84],"class_list":{"0":"post-248441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-afghanistan","9":"tag-taliban-takeover","10":"tag-un"},"yoast_head":"\n