Most civilian victims of Afghanistan's 2001-2021 war have been left "without justice, reparation or even acknowledgement" of their suffering, the United Nations said Tuesday, with one man in Kabul telling AFP "the world has forgotten us".
The U.S. launched a "military intervention" in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, ushering in two decades of conflict in which civilians suffered widespread violence and abuses.
More than 40,000 civilians were killed and 77,000 wounded in attacks by Taliban insurgents, the Daesh terrorist group and also during operations by the armed forces of the Afghan Republic or the international coalition led by the United States, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.
The U.N. mission has documented civilian casualties since 2009 in one of the most exhaustive studies on victims of the 2001-2021 war.
From memory loss to depression and suicidal thoughts, 95% of the nearly 200 victims interviewed by UNAMA "experienced psychological harm".
Most of the victims interviewed who attempted to obtain justice "were unsuccessful", UNAMA said.
An action plan for "Peace, Reconciliation and Justice" was launched in 2006 but "never fully implemented," the U.N. recalled.
The 2020 U.S.-Taliban peace deal provided for intra-Afghan talks but, "did not include any specific provisions for victims' rights, justice or accountability", it added.
After returning to power, the Taliban authorities passed an amnesty law and have shown no public intent to prosecute wartime violations of humanitarian law, UNAMA said.
"Domestic and international efforts to hold perpetrators accountable have been limited and faced numerous barriers," it concluded.
