Human Rights Watch stated on Monday that the United States and coalition nations have yet to deliver genuine justice or redress for war crimes and other severe violations committed in Afghanistan over the past 25 years since the war began on October 7, 2001. The organization released a timeline of its reporting on the conflict, highlighting the persistent need for accountability.
US Detainees and Torture Allegations
Following the September 11 attacks by al-Qaeda, the US government permitted interrogation methods amounting to torture for suspects linked to armed groups. Human Rights Watch and others documented abuse by US forces in Afghanistan, including beatings, humiliation, simulated drowning, prolonged sleep deprivation, and simulated execution. Many civilian detainees were released months or years later without charges, and the US government has never provided full accountability or compensation for these violations.
Patricia Gossman, co-director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, noted that Afghans tortured by US forces and families of those killed unjustly lack a clear path to seek redress from the US government. She stated that successive US administrations ignored serious violations, leaving the most affected individuals without compensation or justice.
Specific Cases and Impunity
The US conflict in Afghanistan, which lasted 20 years and ended with the Taliban regaining control of Kabul in August 2021, was subject to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and customary international humanitarian law, prohibiting arbitrary execution, torture, and deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on civilians. One farmer told Human Rights Watch that US forces detained him in Ghazni in 2019 while he recovered from eye surgery. He claimed he lost his sight permanently after being beaten by soldiers during questioning who refused to provide medical care.
While the US prosecuted some soldiers for unlawful killing, such as Sergeant Robert Biles convicted in 2012 for killing 16 civilians in Kandahar, many cases remain unresolved. President Donald Trump pardoned several US soldiers convicted of unlawful killings, including Lieutenant Clint Lawrence, who received a pardon after serving six years of a 19-year sentence. Other charges were dropped against officers like Major Matthew Golstine.
Allied Forces and International Response
Other coalition forces also failed to seriously address serious violations by their military personnel. Despite ongoing investigations in Australia and the UK regarding allegations of civilian killings and mistreatment, progress has been slow. In Australia, nearly six years after the Brereton Report detailed alleged war crimes by special forces between 2005 and 2016, only two arrests were made, with no trials commenced or compensation provided to victims.
In the UK, successive governments attempted to prevent prosecutions through secrecy and closing criminal investigations before an independent inquiry opened in December 2022, limited to three years from 2010 to 2013. Meanwhile, influential men backed by the US in the Afghan government were responsible for severe violations, including attacking civilians, torturing detainees, rape, and enforced disappearances.
The Taliban and other rebel groups targeted civilians, causing thousands of casualties. The Taliban assassinated female officials and journalists, attacked embassies, hotels, polling stations, and aid organizations, and used indiscriminate roadside bombs. The International Criminal Court initially investigated potential war crimes and crimes against humanity by all parties since May 1, 2003. However, under pressure from the Trump administration, which imposed sanctions on ICC judges and prosecutors, Prosecutor Karim Khan prioritized only alleged crimes by the Taliban and Islamic State in 2021.
UN Mechanism for Accountability
In October 2025, the UN Human Rights Council took a significant step by establishing an independent investigation mechanism for Afghanistan to collect, preserve, and analyze evidence of past and ongoing international crimes by all parties, preparing files to facilitate future prosecutions. UN leadership must ensure the mechanism receives adequate resources and begins investigations without delay, while judicial authorities abroad should cooperate with the mechanism.
This report was produced by the HuMedia newsroom.
