Physical Address
FRANKFURT, GERMANY.
A new United Nations report shows that, for many victims in Afghanistan, the wounds of war have not ended: 95% of those interviewed reported psychological or emotional harm, while 58% reported physical injuries
The War Ended, but the Suffering of Victims Did Not
Decades of armed conflict in Afghanistan left hundreds of thousands of families facing death, injury, disability, displacement, poverty and profound psychological trauma. A new United Nations report now shows that, for many victims, the end of one phase of the war did not mean the end of its consequences.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says in its new report that victims of the conflict continue to live with profound physical, psychological, social and economic consequences, and that many have neither obtained justice nor received adequate support, while the harm they suffered has not even been properly acknowledged.
The report focuses primarily on the period of conflict from 2001 until the Taliban takeover on 15 August 2021 and is based on interviews with 195 victims of the conflict and members of victims’ families.
Direct sources:
UNAMA — Official report announcement, “Left Behind,” 1 September 2026
UNAMA — Official Dari announcement of the report
95% Reported Psychological or Emotional Harm
One of the most striking findings of the UNAMA study concerns the psychological consequences of war.
Ninety-five percent of those interviewed said they had suffered emotional or psychological harm, including depression, anxiety, flashbacks and other trauma-related symptoms.
In addition, 58% said they had sustained physical injuries as a result of the conflict. Some continue to live with chronic pain or disabilities resulting from war-related injuries.
These figures should not be extrapolated to Afghanistan’s entire population. They relate specifically to the 195 victims and family members interviewed for this study. Nevertheless, the findings demonstrate the depth of the long-term impact of war on the victims interviewed by UNAMA.
Direct source:
UNAMA — Findings on the physical and psychological harm suffered by victims
More Than 40,000 Civilians Killed and More Than 77,000 Injured
The scale of civilian suffering extends far beyond the 195 people interviewed for this study.
According to UNAMA, between January 2009 and 15 August 2021 alone, the mission documented more than 40,000 civilian deaths and more than 77,000 civilian injuries resulting from the conflict.
These figures do not represent all victims of Afghanistan’s decades of war. The cited documentation period begins in 2009 and therefore must not be presented as the total number of casualties from the conflict since 2001 or from the decades preceding it.
For Afghanistan Spiegel, this distinction is fundamental: the credibility of documentation depends not only on reporting the figures accurately, but also on clearly defining the scope and limitations of those figures.
Direct source:
UNAMA — Full report: “Left Behind: The Rights of Victims in the Aftermath of Decades of Armed Conflict in Afghanistan”
55% Never Even Sought Justice or Reparations
One of the report’s most important findings concerns not past violence itself, but victims’ access to justice.
UNAMA says 55% of those interviewed had never sought justice, reparations or any other form of redress.
The reasons reported are significant: some believed their complaints would not be taken seriously, while others feared retaliation.
Even among those who had sought assistance or accountability, 64% said their efforts had produced no result.
Victims reported administrative obstacles, a lack of response, perceptions of discrimination and limited transparency in their interactions with authorities and institutions.
These findings raise a fundamental question:
What does justice mean if a victim does not believe that a complaint will be taken seriously — or is afraid of what may happen if they seek justice?
Direct source:
UNAMA — Findings on barriers to victims’ access to justice and reparations
What Do Victims Want?
UNAMA asked victims directly what mattered to them.
Their responses are clear:
81% — Financial compensation
48% — Access to justice
47% — Measures to prevent the recurrence of violations
These figures are particularly significant because they move the discussion of justice in Afghanistan away from political decision-making and toward the expressed priorities of victims themselves.
For victims, justice does not consist solely of punishing perpetrators. It can also include truth-seeking, recognition of the harm suffered, reparations, physical and psychological support, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-recurrence.
None of these measures, however, should replace criminal investigations into serious crimes where sufficient evidence exists and the applicable legal requirements for such investigations are met.
Direct source:
UNAMA — Priorities expressed by victims of Afghanistan’s conflict
Widowed Women: Past War and Present Restrictions
The UNAMA report demonstrates how the consequences of war can intersect with Afghanistan’s current human rights situation.
Women who lost their husbands during the conflict may face economic insecurity. UNAMA states that restrictions imposed by the de facto authorities have limited women’s access to employment, exacerbating the economic difficulties faced by women widowed as a result of the war.
For some women, therefore, victimization during the conflict is not simply an event belonging to the past: the loss of a family member, economic hardship and current restrictions on employment can reinforce one another.
Direct source:
UNAMA — Economic situation of women widowed as a result of the conflict
Justice Must Not Depend on the Identity of the Perpetrator or the Victim
UNAMA’s report focuses primarily on the period between 2001 and 15 August 2021 — a period in which Afghanistan witnessed the involvement of multiple armed actors.
For Afghanistan Spiegel, one principle must be non-negotiable:
A victim’s rights do not depend on the identity of the alleged perpetrator.
Where credible evidence of serious crimes exists, the standards of investigation and accountability must apply equally to all. Justice cannot be selectively applied according to the political, ethnic, religious, military or international affiliation of the alleged perpetrator.
UNAMA also calls on all parties bearing conflict-related responsibilities to support accountability efforts and participate in measures addressing victims’ rights and needs.
Direct source:
UNAMA — Recommendations on accountability and victims’ rights
Afghanistan Faces an Unfinished Archive of Suffering
Behind the statistics of war are individual human cases.
A destroyed home.
A family member killed.
A body permanently disabled.
A child who grew up carrying memories of violence.
A family that still does not know who was responsible.
But memory alone cannot transform suffering into justice.
Documents, testimonies, medical records, photographs, judgments, burial sites, command structures and other potential evidence must be preserved and examined in accordance with professional and legal standards.
Because with the passage of time, witnesses die, documents disappear and establishing responsibility becomes more difficult.
UNAMA calls for a comprehensive, victim-centred approach to addressing the legacy of Afghanistan’s conflict and stresses that victims’ voices and rights must remain at the centre of this process.
Direct source:
UNAMA — Proposed victim-centred approach for Afghanistan
Afghanistan Spiegel Assessment: Peace Without Justice Does Not Erase the Past
UNAMA’s new report once again exposes an important reality:
A change of government, the end of a military operation or a reduction in large-scale warfare does not erase responsibility toward victims of past conflicts.
Afghanistan cannot simply treat decades of violence as a closed chapter of history while thousands of families continue to live with disability, poverty, psychological trauma, the loss of loved ones and unanswered questions about justice.
From Afghanistan Spiegel’s perspective, justice for Afghanistan must be victim-centred, evidence-based and non-selective.
One victim must not be considered important because of the identity of the alleged perpetrator while another is forgotten.
The same principle applies to responsibility.
Political affiliation, present power, former office, nationality or international status should not in themselves shield anyone from scrutiny where evidence of individual responsibility exists.
At the same time, criminal responsibility is individual. A report by the United Nations or a human rights organization does not, by itself, establish the criminal guilt of a particular person. Responsibility must be determined on the basis of sufficient evidence through competent, independent and fair judicial proceedings.
Source underlying Afghanistan Spiegel’s assessment:
UNAMA — Left Behind: The Rights of Victims in the Aftermath of Decades of Armed Conflict in Afghanistan
Afghanistan Spiegel Call to Action: Victims Need More Than Sympathy
Afghanistan Spiegel calls on the United Nations, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, the International Criminal Court, the European Union, states involved in Afghanistan’s conflict, and independent human rights organizations to move the issue of Afghanistan’s war victims out of the margins of international policy.
But our demand is not limited to establishing assistance funds, issuing statements or expressing sympathy.
The truth must be documented. Evidence must be preserved. Responsibility must be investigated.
Every credible allegation of war crimes, crimes against humanity or other crimes under international law should be examined by independent and competent bodies on the basis of evidence and applicable law.
Victims and witnesses must be protected against threats and retaliation. Documents and evidence must be preserved according to standards that allow their potential use in future judicial proceedings.
Most importantly:
Where independent investigations produce sufficient admissible evidence of individual criminal responsibility, suspects must — regardless of their affiliation, rank, power or nationality — be brought before competent national or international courts and tried through fair judicial proceedings.
This demand must not be selective.
Where sufficient evidence exists, justice must be pursued regardless of which party to the conflict the alleged perpetrator belonged to.
UNAMA likewise calls for support for accountability efforts, comprehensive reparations and assistance programmes for victims, and the participation of all parties bearing conflict-related responsibilities in addressing victims’ rights.
Direct sources:
UNAMA — Official report and recommendations concerning victims’ rights
UNAMA — Official Dari version
Afghanistan does not need to forget its past in order to build its future.
On the contrary, a future built on the erasure of victims and the impunity of those responsible for crimes carries the risk of reproducing the same cycle.
Afghanistan’s victims need more than remembrance. They have the right to know the truth, to have their voices heard, to have the harm they suffered recognized, and to have access to justice.
And where sufficient evidence shows that individuals are responsible for international crimes, justice must not stop at the boundaries of rank, power or political considerations.
No sustainable peace should be built on the forgetting of victims and impunity for serious crimes.
