AFGHANISTAN Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Amid a deteriorating humanitarian crisis and economic upheavals, people in Afghanistan suffered extreme repression and human rights violations. The Taliban placed increasing restrictions on women and girls, apparently aimed at erasing them completely from public arenas. There were international calls to investigate this gender persecution as a crime against humanity. Freedom of expression was eroded, and those peacefully expressing views critical of the Taliban faced enforced disappearance, unlawful detention, arbitrary arrest, torture and other ill-treatment. The culture of impunity continued, including for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Freedom of religion shrank further under Taliban rule. Ethnic groups, including religious minorities, faced increasing marginalization, prejudice and forced evictions. The Taliban enforced public executions and corporal punishment such as stoning and flogging. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS A devastating humanitarian crisis deepened during the year, exacerbated by the Taliban takeover in 2021, disasters such as earthquakes and floods, and consecutive years of drought. UN agencies estimated that the number of people in need of assistance increased from 18.4 million in 2022 to nearly 29 million by August 2023. The WHO warned that millions were at risk of malnutrition and disease with poor or no access to healthcare and food, including 2.3 million children at risk of acute malnutrition. In addition to international isolation and financial sanctions in response to the Taliban takeover, the country’s UN humanitarian response programme had received only 34.8% of its funding as of November. Humanitarian challenges were set to increase amid Pakistan’s mass deportation of Afghan 70 refugees. Iran and Türkiye also continued to deport Afghan refugees. The healthcare system continued to be dependent on international aid and remained fragile due to lack of adequate infrastructure and resources. WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ RIGHTS The Taliban’s draconian restrictions on the rights of women and girls, together with the use of arbitrary arrest and detention, enforced disappearance and torture and other ill-treatment, were found by Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) possibly to amount to the crime against humanity of gender persecution.1 In April, the Taliban extended the ban on women working outside the home to include jobs with the UN, creating additional challenges in delivering humanitarian assistance. Bans remained on women working in the public sector, except in areas such as healthcare, primary education, or specific security institutions such as airports or women’s prisons. Women were banned from appearing in public alone or travelling for more than 72km without a male chaperone. Beauty salons were forcibly closed from July, impacting some 60,000 women-owned businesses, according to UN reports. The ban on women participating in sports activities, or visiting public parks, continued. In some provinces, including Herat, the Taliban authorities reported introducing additional localized restrictions such as banning lone women from going to restaurants. Restrictions on girls’ education expanded. In addition to the ban on girls’ enrolment in education beyond primary school, in June international NGOs, including programmes led by UNICEF, were banned from providing community-based education and were requested to transfer programmes to local organizations. Nearly 4,500 women were reportedly dismissed from jobs in education in June and July. The State of the World’s Human Rights