On Tuesday, the United Nations confirmed that two Afghan employees of its mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, have been taken into custody by the country’s de facto intelligence service, with UN representatives barred from contacting the detained men for 48 hours as of the announcement.
In an official statement, the mission confirmed the arrests took place Sunday, August 9, in Afghanistan’s western Herat Province, targeting two male local staff members assigned to UNAMA. The de facto Afghan Taliban authorities have not issued any public comment on the detentions, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Agence France-Presse.
The office of UN Secretary-General António Guterres has publicly called for the immediate recognition of the UN staff’s protected legal status, a core requirement under international agreements governing UN operations worldwide. “We have not been informed of the charges against them or permitted to see them,” said Farhan Haq, Guterres’ chief spokesman. “We call on the de facto authorities to ensure compliance with the privileges and immunities of the UN and its officials.”
The detentions come just six days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to full control of Afghanistan, following the fall of Kabul to the group on August 15, 2021. Today, multiple UN agencies maintain active operations across Afghanistan, delivering critical support in public health, emergency humanitarian response, and development programs for a population grappling with widespread economic collapse and international isolation.
Just this week, UNAMA released a new policy report calling on Taliban security institutions to clarify binding rules governing the use of force, police powers of arrest and detention, and strengthen mechanisms for civilian accountability for state actions—recommendations that contextually frame the current detention of UN staff.
Over the nearly five years of Taliban rule, the de facto government has enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law that has imposed sweeping restrictions on civil rights, particularly for women and girls. Currently, all Afghan women, including those employed by the UN, are barred from entering UN facilities across the country, a restriction that has severely disrupted the organization’s ability to deliver aid to half the Afghan population.
This is not the first incident of UN-affiliated personnel being detained by Taliban security forces in Herat Province this year. In June, roughly 20 aid workers, including staff from organizations that partner with UN operations, were detained by the country’s morality police near the Iranian border over claims their beards did not meet the Taliban’s required length. All of the detained workers were eventually released after diplomatic negotiations.
That same month, dozens of Afghan women were detained by morality police for allegedly violating mandatory dress codes, which require all women to wear full-body coverings such as a chador or burqa. Among those detained was a hospital employee working for Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an international medical humanitarian organization that issued a harsh public condemnation of the arrest.
When a rare public protest broke out against these restrictive policies earlier this year, UN observers confirmed that Taliban security forces violently dispersed the demonstration, leaving at least two protesters dead.
Beyond ongoing rights restrictions, Afghanistan is currently grappling with cascading humanitarian and economic crises. Deep cuts to international development aid following the Taliban’s return to power have gutted the country’s economy, leaving more than half the population dependent on humanitarian assistance. In recent years, the country has also absorbed millions of Afghan refugees deported from neighboring Iran and Pakistan, adding additional strain to already overstretched basic services.