UN Expert Warns Against Normalizing Taliban De Facto Authorities

On October 30, 2025, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, in his report to the U.N. General Assembly, warned against normalizing Taliban de facto authorities. As he emphasized, “The severity of the situation cannot be overstated. Dismantling the Taliban’s institutionalized system of gender persecution, and addressing the country’s myriad human rights crises, demands urgent, principled and sustained international attention and action – not normalization of the de facto authorities.” The warning comes only a few months after Russia recognized the Taliban, and a few other countries are also exploring this option.

The new report comments on the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, caused mainly by the Taliban’s discriminatory and repressive policies and practices.

It reports on the issue of an increasingly entrenched, institutionalized system of gender-based discrimination, oppression and domination of women and girls in the country. As the Special Rapporteur noted, all the wide-ranging restrictions imposed on women and girls remain in effect. It further adds that in recent months, the Taliban has intensified the implementation of the 2024 Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Among others, in July 2025, the de facto authorities in Kabul arrested dozens of women and girls deemed to be wearing “improper” hijabs. The Taliban engage the general public in the implementation of the laws, with instructions being issued to “shopkeepers, drivers and others not to allow access or provide services to women without a mahram. In some instances, women deemed to be violating Taliban-imposed dress codes were prevented from gaining access to public offices or services, including health centers. In August 2025, de facto officials intensified their crackdown on beauty salons for women that were operating underground after being banned in 2023.” Similarly, family members are increasingly involved in the implementation of the law.

The Special Rapporteur raised another worrying trend of the increase in judicially sanctioned public executions and an alarming surge in corporal punishments during the last few months. According to the report, “Typical punishments constitute dozens of lashes that are accompanied by terms of imprisonment. An analysis of data from the de facto Supreme Court indicates that, between 1 January and 31 August, at least 681 people (552 men and 129 women) were subjected to corporal punishment, more than double the figure for the same period in the previous year.”

Last, but not least, the report further commented on the impact of international funding cuts, in particular by the United States of America and European States. As the Special Rapporteur noted, “A June 2025 survey of organizations operating inside Afghanistan found that 85% of 137 respondents reported projects being affected by funding cuts. A women-led organization that submitted information to the Special Rapporteur reported having lost 60% of its core funding since mid-2025, resulting in the termination of one third of its staff.” These funding cuts affected the provision of humanitarian aid and assistance, including assistance to human rights defenders, victims/survivors of gender-based violence, mental health and psychosocial assistance, and other important initiatives.

Despite the ever-growing concerns from Afghanistan, some States are getting closer to the de facto or de jure recognition of the Taliban. As the Special Rapporteur emphasized, “turning a blind eye to widespread abuses, in particular the systematic discrimination, oppression and exclusion of women and girls, not only emboldens the Taliban, but also sets a dangerous precedent globally. Failure to challenge gender-based persecution in Afghanistan risks accelerating the worldwide rollback of women’s rights and gender equality. It also significantly undermines the women and peace, and security agenda.”

Normalizing relationships with the Taliban will send a message to all victims/survivors of gross human rights violations that their pain and suffering can be ignored for the sake of some questionable deals with the Taliban. Such normalization cannot be justified without States dismantling the rules-based international order. The international community must take the warning from Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett seriously, as the consequences of this normalization will have repercussions not only for human rights in Afghanistan but also beyond.