U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the Taliban for their complete disregard for the life and welfare of Afghan citizens in an annual report on the condition and future of the war-torn nation. Human rights atrocities committed during Taliban offensives and highlighted in the report included the execution of women and children, forced displacement, looting and burning of homes and crops, arbitrary detention and the separation of men from families.
Annan warned of a bleak situation for the coming year and announced that a new U.N. civil rights monitoring unit which the Feminist Majority Foundation has advocated will work inside Afghanistan to deter the “massive and systematic violations of human rights in the future.” He also spoke out on military involvement in the conflict by Afghanistan’s neighbors, stating “Such interference from outside the country remains one of the biggest impediments to peace, as it provides the essential means for the continued fighting in the forms of arms, ammunition and other war-making material.”
