Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Human Rights Watch has called on the United States and other countries involved in the Afghanistan war to investigate alleged war crimes and serious abuses by their forces and provide compensation to victims and their families, saying Afghans still have no clear path to justice 25 years after the conflict began.
In a statement marking 25 years since the U.S.-led war began on October 7, 2001, HRW said successive governments have failed to provide adequate accountability or redress for Afghans subjected to abuses by foreign forces. The organization said many people detained by U.S. forces were held for months or years without being charged with crimes and that victims have largely been left without an effective mechanism to seek compensation.
Patricia Gossman, senior associate Asia director at HRW, said Afghans tortured in U.S. custody and families of people who were wrongfully killed still lack a clear avenue to file claims or obtain redress from the U.S. government. HRW documented abuses including beatings, humiliation, waterboarding, prolonged sleep deprivation and mock executions.
HRW also highlighted alleged abuses by other coalition forces. It said investigations into alleged summary killings and mistreatment by Australian and British forces have made limited progress. In Australia, the Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes by special forces resulted in only two arrests, while trials had not begun and victims or their families were not known to have received compensation, according to HRW.
The organization cited several cases involving U.S. forces, including the 2012 conviction of Robert Bales for killing 16 Afghan civilians in Kandahar. HRW also pointed to the “Kill Team” case, in which several U.S. soldiers were convicted over the killing of Afghan civilians, while saying other serious allegations, including the deaths of civilians in Wardak province, did not result in prosecutions.
HRW said accountability should extend to all parties to the conflict, including Taliban forces, Afghan government forces and other armed groups. It accused Taliban fighters of attacks on civilians, aid workers, government officials and election-related targets, while also pointing to alleged torture, sexual violence and enforced disappearances involving powerful figures linked to the former Afghan government.
The organization said the International Criminal Court initially investigated alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by various parties in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, Islamic State, Afghan government forces, U.S. forces and the CIA. However, HRW said the ICC’s Afghanistan investigation has not publicly advanced against several of those actors.
A potential avenue for broader accountability emerged in October 2025, when the UN Human Rights Council established an independent investigative mechanism for Afghanistan. The body is mandated to collect, preserve and analyze evidence of international crimes and serious violations of international law by all sides and prepare files to facilitate future criminal proceedings.
HRW said governments should ensure that the new UN mechanism receives sufficient resources and begins its work without delay. It argued that the passage of time and government inaction should not prevent Afghan victims and survivors from obtaining justice, recognition and reparations.