ACAA Calls for Renewed UK Action Five Years After Taliban Takeover

As Afghanistan approaches five years since the Taliban seized Kabul on August 15, 2021, the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association (ACAA) is urging the UK government and the international community to address what it describes as a deepening human rights, humanitarian and regional security crisis.

ACAA, a London-based refugee charity supporting Afghan and Central Asian communities in the United Kingdom, said the five-year mark represents more than an anniversary. It reflects a period in which millions of Afghans have experienced restrictions on fundamental freedoms, while women and girls have been increasingly excluded from education, employment and public life.

On August 14, ACAA is holding a conference and panel-discussion titled “Five Years On: Fall of Kabul & Taliban’s Return to Afghanistan” from 4-6 pm at Senate House in Russell Square, Central London. The organization has invited journalists, broadcasters, photographers and other members of the media to attend and cover the event.

In a statement, the organization also raised concerns about discrimination and insecurity facing ethnic and religious minorities, as well as the narrowing of pathways for Afghans seeking protection abroad.

According to ACAA, conditions have continued to deteriorate in 2026, particularly for women and girls.

The organization expressed concern over recent Taliban measures related to marriage, saying they have raised questions about protections against child and forced marriage and the ability of women and girls to challenge marriages arranged during childhood.

Afghan girls remain prohibited from attending secondary school, while restrictions on women have extended to employment and other areas of public life. ACAA said the cumulative effect of these measures has further limited women’s independence and participation in Afghan society.

The organization also cited concerns surrounding the Taliban’s Criminal Procedure Regulation of the Courts, including its implications for fair-trial protections, corporal punishment and discrimination.

ACAA said Afghanistan’s broader human rights situation should also include greater international attention to ethnic communities, including Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks.

The charity called for allegations of discrimination, arbitrary detention, displacement and other abuses involving minority communities to be documented and investigated. It argued that Afghanistan’s long-term stability requires representative governance, equality before the law and protections regardless of ethnicity, gender, language or religious belief.

The statement also highlighted growing tensions between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. Cross-border violence and strikes involving Pakistan and Taliban authorities have heightened concerns about civilian casualties, displacement and disruptions to trade and humanitarian assistance.

ACAA urged regional governments and the international community to prioritize diplomacy and prevent Afghan civilians from bearing the consequences of further regional confrontation.

The organization also pointed to Afghanistan’s continuing humanitarian emergency, with millions of people requiring assistance amid hunger, malnutrition, drought, unemployment and displacement. The return of large numbers of Afghans from neighboring countries has placed additional pressure on communities already facing severe economic challenges.

ACAA emphasized that humanitarian assistance should continue despite political disagreements with the Taliban authorities.

The charity also called on the British government to reconsider pathways available to Afghans facing persecution.

Five years after the evacuation from Kabul, dedicated UK programs established following the Taliban takeover are generally no longer open to new applicants or referrals, according to ACAA. The organization said this has left many vulnerable Afghans without a realistic dedicated pathway to seek protection in Britain.

It identified women and girls, human rights defenders, journalists, former public servants and members of vulnerable ethnic and religious communities as among those who could face heightened risks.

ACAA called for a renewed UK strategy combining humanitarian assistance, human rights protections and safe pathways for Afghans facing persecution.

“Five years after the Taliban returned to power, we cannot allow Afghanistan to disappear from the world’s conscience,” said Darius Nasimi, ACAA’s Head of Funding and Partnerships. “For millions of Afghans, these have been five years of shrinking freedom, deepening poverty and growing fear about what the future holds.”

Highlighting the impact of Taliban policies on women and girls, Nasimi said, “For women and girls, the situation is especially devastating. Girls who were beginning secondary school when Kabul fell have now spent five formative years denied an education.”

“The Taliban’s latest measures affecting marriage and the justice system show us that this repression is not temporary. It is becoming embedded in the institutions governing everyday life,” he added.

“Britain made commitments to the Afghan people. Five years later, those commitments still matter,” Nasimi said. “We are asking the UK Government to show leadership: defend the rights of Afghan women and minorities, maintain humanitarian support, create meaningful routes to safety for people facing persecution, and refuse to normalize a system that strips millions of Afghans of their fundamental rights.”

“Afghanistan’s people have not given up on their country. The international community must not give up on them,” he added.

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