Afghanistan

Constitutional Provisions

The extent to which the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan remains in force following the takeover of the country by the Taliban in 2021 is unclear. 

Article 7 of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan obligates the state to "observe the United Nations Charter, inter-state agreements, as well as international treaties to which Afghanistan has joined, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights". Article 23 provides that:

Life is the gift of God as well as the natural right of human beings. No one shall be deprived of this except by legal provision.

According to Article 36:

The people of Afghanistan shall have the right to gather and hold unarmed demonstrations, in accordance with the law, for attaining legitimate and peaceful purposes.

Article 134 of the Constitution declares that: "Discovery of crimes shall be the duty of police". 

It is not known whether the Constitution will be amended in light of the Taliban takeover in August 2021.

Treaty Adherence

Global Treaties

Regional

There is no regional human rights treaty to which Central Asian nations can become party. 

National Legislation

Police Use of Force

The Taliban adopted a Law on the Prevention of Vice in 2024. The law imposes mandatory hijab and dress codes. As the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan has reported in his 2025 review of the law, the authorities have at times arrested and detained women and girls for wearing “bad” or “incorrect” hijabs.

Individuals accused of adultery are subject to corporal punishment, which amounts to torture and other ill-treatment. In some cases, individuals have been sentenced to stoning. While both women and men have received punishments for zina (adultery) since the Taliban retook power, women and girls are disproportionately affected. Under the Taliban, same-sex relationships are subject to corporal punishment, which is generally accompanied by terms of imprisonment. Some individuals have been sentenced to “burial under a wall.” The Taliban dictate that children can be subject to the same punishments as adults, including corporal punishments. 

The law grants muhtasibs (the moral police)

broad and arbitrary powers to detain and punish individuals accused of infractions of its provisions, without any requirement for evidence or due process, in flagrant violation of international human rights law and standards. In conferring such broad and discretionary powers, the law enables muhtasibs to simultaneously function as law enforcement officers, judges, and prison wardens, which very few limitations or checks on their power. 

A 2005 Police Law, nominally still in force, specifically governs police use of force. The extent to which this remains in force following the Taliban takeover is unclear. According to Article 20 of the 2005 law, the police may use force under "due circumstance", but should "if possible", use the "lowest degree" of force.

According to Article 23 of the Law, the police cannot use firearms or explosive devices against children.

Article 24 provides that:

The police can apply weapon or explosives against a group of people only if it resorted to offensive acts of disturbing the security by means of arms, and if the use of other means of force applied against them individually has proved ineffective. In this case it is imperative to first announce the use of weapon or explosives by giving at least three verbal warnings followed by three gunshot warnings and that this action should happen within the provisions of the law and be based on a sound decision.

In addition, according to Article 275 of Afghanistan's 1976 Penal Code: "If an official of public services tortures the accused for the purpose of obtaining a confession or issues an order to this effect; he shall be sentenced to long imprisonment." Under paragraph 2: 

If the accused dies as a result of torture, the person committing it shall be sentenced to the punishment of intentional murder as anticipated in this Code.

The Afghan Police Code of Conduct is an ethical commitment and a collection of standards governing the behaviour of police officers. Each officer makes the following commitment:

I will respect the International Declaration of Human Rights and never engage in violence and deviation from my official responsibilities. Also, I am against any form of torture and I will not insult or treat anyone inhumanely.

With respect to use of force: 

I will use force when necessary and only to the extent absolutely required for the performance of my duties. I will never employ unnecessary force or violence. I will use force as a preventive tool only when discussion, negotiation and persuasion have been attempted unsuccessfully. 

Police Oversight

Under the former government, allegations about violations of the Police Code of Conduct were to be adjudicated by the Ministry of Interior's Disciplinary Panel. Any police officer charged with a violation of the Code had the right to be present in sessions when the Disciplinary Panel investigates the issue. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission also had jurisdiction to hear complaints of excessive or indiscriminate police use of force.

It is assumed that this bodies are no longer functional and that they have not been replaced by an oversight body.

Caselaw and Views of Treaty Bodies

Global

The International Criminal Court

In January 2025, the ICC Prosecutor sought arrest warrants against the Supreme Leader of the Taliban and the Chief Justice of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan for gender persecution as crimes against humanity. The Office of the Prosecutor had 

concluded that these two Afghan nationals are criminally responsible for persecuting Afghan girls and women, as well as persons whom the Taliban perceived as not conforming with their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression, and persons whom the Taliban perceived as allies of girls and women. This persecution was committed from at least 15 August 2021 until the present day, across the territory of Afghanistan.

This ongoing persecution entails numerous severe deprivations of victims’ fundamental rights, contrary to international law, including the right to physical integrity and autonomy, to free movement and free expression, to education, to private and family life, and to free assembly. 

Views of United Nations Special Procedures

In February 2025, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, told the UN Human Rights Council that “Intensifying Taliban repression, expanding discrimination against women and girls, shrinking civic space, violations against ethnic and religious and an alarming escalation in corporal punishment and other violence are stark warnings that things in Afghanistan are only getting worse.” His latest report is available here.

Views and Concluding Observations of United Nations Treaty Bodies

In its 2017 Concluding Observations on Afghanistan, the Committee against Torture urged Afghanistan 

To ensure that all alleged cases of torture and ill-treatment are promptly medically documented in line with the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol);

To ensure that all instances and allegations of torture and ill-treatment are investigated promptly, effectively and impartially by an independent body.

Regional

There is no regional human rights court with jurisdiction over police use of force in Afghanistan.

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