15/08/2026
Statement by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Stockholm on the Fifth Anniversary of the Collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Five years have passed since the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the imposition of Taliban rule over the Afghan people. These five years have been marked by one of the most extensive and systematic patterns of human rights violations, suppression of fundamental freedoms, and exclusion of citizens from participation in the political destiny of their country.
The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Stockholm expresses its profound regret over the collapse of the Republic and the loss of the achievements made by the Afghan people over two decades in the fields of democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and political participation. The Embassy considers this collapse to have resulted from a combination of internal and external factors, including the breakdown of political and security structures, as well as international neglect and miscalculations by certain international actors. The people of Afghanistan must not be made to bear the cost of such decisions and miscalculations through the loss of their freedom, dignity, and fundamental rights.
Over the past five years, the Taliban have established an exclusive structure devoid of legitimacy derived from the will of the people, while systematically and extensively violating the fundamental rights of Afghan citizens. Women and girls have effectively been excluded from education, employment, political participation, and large parts of public life. These policies are not merely discriminatory; they constitute a clear form of gender-based discrimination and a violation of fundamental human rights obligations and established principles of international law.
Afghanistan’s youth have likewise been deprived of a meaningful future, equal opportunities, and participation in determining the political and social destiny of their country. The suppression of freedom of expression, restrictions on the media, pressure on civil society, dismantling of independent institutions, and persecution of political opponents have transformed the public sphere into an environment characterized by fear and self-censorship.
The Embassy also strongly condemns religious and ethnic discrimination, restrictions on religious freedoms, pressure against religious communities—particularly Afghanistan’s Shia community—and efforts to impose an exclusive and extremist interpretation of religion upon Afghan society. Afghanistan is a country of profound ethnic, religious, linguistic, and cultural diversity. No group has the right to impose its interpretation upon the entire population through the use or threat of force.
Arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, degrading punishments, the confiscation and unlawful seizure of citizens’ property, and violations of the right to property and due process are among the serious concerns that have been repeatedly raised by the international community and human rights organizations. The rule of law has meaning only when law serves to protect the rights of citizens, rather than functioning as an instrument for consolidating the power of an armed group.
The Taliban have also weakened independent institutions, dismantled mechanisms of accountability, and concentrated power to such an extent that the will of the Afghan people has no meaningful place in determining the country’s political structure. Political legitimacy cannot be derived from the barrel of a gun or imposed through force. Genuine legitimacy derives from the consent of the people, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and the equal participation of all citizens.
The past five years have also demonstrated an important reality: the free world and states committed to the principles of human rights have, despite necessary diplomatic and humanitarian engagement, refrained from recognizing Taliban rule as a legitimate government representing the people of Afghanistan. This demonstrates that political engagement and de facto control are not equivalent to legal or political legitimacy.
The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Stockholm calls upon the international community and the United Nations to maintain a clear distinction between engagement aimed at addressing humanitarian and political concerns and the recognition of a structure lacking legitimacy derived from the will of the Afghan people. The international community must refrain from any action that could normalize systematic human rights violations or confer legitimacy upon the Taliban’s exclusive system of rule.
We call upon free and democratic states and international institutions to:
* Provide practical and sustained support for the fundamental rights of Afghan women and girls, including their rights to education, employment, and participation in public life;
* Document and pursue accountability for systematic human rights violations, religious and ethnic discrimination, and the suppression of civil society and political opposition;
* Refrain from recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan until clear and verifiable human rights, political, and legal standards are met;
* Support the right of the Afghan people to freely determine their political system and their country’s future;
* Support the establishment of an inclusive political system based on the will of the people, equal citizenship, the rule of law, and the meaningful participation of all ethnic and religious communities, women, and Afghanistan’s younger generation.
Five years of Taliban rule have not resolved Afghanistan’s crisis of legitimacy. On the contrary, the continued practice of discrimination, repression, and exclusion of large segments of Afghan society has deepened that crisis.
Afghanistan’s future cannot be monopolized by an armed group. Afghanistan belongs to all its citizens, and no lasting peace or stability is possible without freedom, justice, human rights, political participation, and the consent of the people.
On the fifth anniversary of the collapse of the Republic, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Stockholm reaffirms its unwavering commitment to republicanism, the rule of law, human rights, fundamental freedoms, and equal citizenship, and to a free, independent, united, and pluralistic Afghanistan. The Embassy stands with the people of Afghanistan in their pursuit of a return to a path grounded in popular legitimacy, justice, and democracy.
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan — Stockholm
15 August 2026
