Overview
- The two U.N. staff members who were detained in Herat on August 9 were released Thursday and are reported to be in good health, the U.N. said.
- U.N. officials said they have not been formally told why the staff were arrested and understand that any charges have been dropped.
- The U.N. is pressing the de facto authorities to respect U.N. privileges, immunities, and the freedom of movement of U.N. and associated personnel across Afghanistan.
- Human Rights Watch says the arrests are part of a pattern of raids, device seizures and opaque detentions, and it reports six staff from a local women’s and children’s rights NGO remain in custody and have been denied family and legal access.
- The detentions deepen obstacles to humanitarian work and rights monitoring in Afghanistan, where U.N. agencies and NGOs are already the main providers of aid and advocates for women and children under Taliban rule since 2021.