Overview

• The report is based on 49 interviews conducted in 2024 with Afghans who were forcibly returned to document widespread human rights violations.
• It records torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary arrests and detention orchestrated by Taliban authorities against returnees selected for their profiles.
• Women, media workers, civil society members and former government employees are among the groups most frequently targeted.
• More than 1.9 million Afghans have returned in 2025 after mass expulsions by Iran and Pakistan, with UNHCR projecting up to 3 million by year-end.
• UN officials led by Volker Türk are demanding an immediate halt to forced returns and accountability for breaches of international law.