Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have forcibly disappeared six staff members of a local organization dedicated to women's and children's rights, Human Rights Watch reported. The detentions occurred on July 18, according to a statement released by the U.S.-based advocacy group.
The employees of the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation were reportedly summoned to their office to retrieve confiscated laptops and phones before being detained. Their families have not been informed of their whereabouts, condition, or any charges.
Human Rights Watch called for the immediate release of the detained staff unless they are charged with a recognizable offense, and for their families and lawyers to be granted access. The organization noted that Taliban security forces had searched and sealed the group's Kabul office and interrogated staff about their work a month prior to the detentions.
This development follows a separate United Nations report stating that two Afghan employees of its mission in the country were detained in the western city of Herat by the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence. The UN mission has not been provided with charges or been able to visit the detained individuals.
The UN mission has urged the Taliban to ensure compliance with the privileges and immunities afforded to United Nations personnel. It has not provided information on whether the two incidents are connected.
The Taliban, which seized power in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew, has not yet commented on these detentions. The group has implemented severe restrictions on women and girls, barring them from secondary and higher education, employment, and public life.
"The Taliban seems to consider any effort to assist women and girls a threat to their abusive rule," said Macarena Sáez, women's rights director at Human Rights Watch. "They should immediately provide information on the six staff members’ whereabouts and release them if held unlawfully."