Afghanistan: UN experts demand immediate end to Taliban restrictions on women at UN premises

| News, Statements, Top-line

31 March 2026, GENEVA – UN experts* today expressed alarm over the continuing ban preventing Afghan women from accessing UN premises, including UN national staff, contractors, and visitors.

“Barring women from UN offices is a direct attack on women’s rights, including their right to work. There can be no cultural, religious or administrative justification for this policy,” the experts said.

“It is outrageous that armed soldiers are policing the gates of UN compounds to prevent women from entering.”

Since September 2025, the Taliban de facto authorities have prohibited Afghan women, including women staff of the UN, from entering UN offices and compounds. This move builds on a plethora of restrictions imposed since 2021 that have systematically removed women from employment in public service, civil society, and many other forms of paid employment, aggravating their often precarious socio-economic condition.

The experts noted that the consequences of this ban are immediate and severe. “In a society where it is imperative that women deliver services to women, life-saving aid, including in response to natural disasters, as well as humanitarian and protection operations, are being compromised, and women and girls are the primary casualties,” they said.

“The continued enforcement of this ban, and wider restrictions on women’s rights, is unacceptable, a violation under international law, and profoundly damaging to Afghanistan’s future.”

The experts underscored the need for a unified and principled international response. They called on all United Nations agencies, funds, and programmes operating in Afghanistan to adopt a common, strong and principled position.

“The UN cannot operate effectively – or in accordance with its values and Charter – when women are deliberately and systematically excluded,” they said. “We call on the UN Secretary-General, who has condemned this ban, to rally a unified, system-wide response, while urging Member States to apply sustained diplomatic pressure to reverse these restrictions without delay.”

“Afghan women have never stopped serving their communities, often under extraordinary pressure and at significant personal risk,” the experts said. “They need clear support and solidarity, and the space to work safely and with dignity.

“Standing with Afghan women, including those who work with the United Nations, is essential to preserving humanitarian action, defending human rights, and safeguarding Afghanistan’s future,” they said.

*The experts:

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organisation, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/

UN Human Rights, country page – Afghanistan

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For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts, please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org).