Statement from the Tánaiste marking four years since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan

Today marks four years since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. In the time since, Ireland has consistently condemned the gross, widespread and systematic human rights abuses by the Taliban across Afghanistan. Today’s tragic anniversary provides us an opportunity to highlight the ongoing suffering and abuse being experienced by the Afghan people and to reaffirm Ireland’s commitment and support to them.

Ireland is committed to progressing principled, coherent and structured multilateral initiatives to deliver a secure future for Afghanistan. We are doing this through our membership of the European Union and the United Nations. A secure future can only be achieved through full respect for civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights, as well as commitment to inclusive and representative governance. Ireland co-sponsored and voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly Resolution in June, which committed to those same principles.

Women and girls are especially suffering; forced to a life behind closed doors, losing their basic rights to education, employment, freedom of movement and access to services. The horrific situation regarding the curtailing of freedoms in Afghanistan is unprecedented and is the direct result of Taliban-imposed decrees. I am appalled by this large-scale systematic exclusion and deprivation of women and girls’ human rights that may amount to crimes against humanity, including gender persecution. Ireland condemns these actions in the strongest terms.

Others are also suffering under the Taliban’s rule. Minorities, including ethnic and religious minorities. The Hazara people, and other vulnerable groups including LGBTQI+ persons have been facing horrendous human rights abuses under the current regime. We have seen extrajudicial killings, public executions, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions become everyday threats for the people of Afghanistan.

In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, Ireland continues to play an active role in seeking to maintain EU and international attention on the appalling human rights situation within Afghanistan and, in particular, the utterly unacceptable restrictions imposed by the Taliban on Afghan women and girls as well as on vulnerable minorities.

In 2025, Afghanistan continues to face one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, with over half of the population, around 22.9 million people, already in need of assistance and the return of large numbers of Afghan refugees compounding the existing crisis. Ireland has contributed €4 million this year to the United Nations to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan and to support Afghan refugees in the wider region.

Ireland will continue to work with our trusted partners on the ground in Afghanistan and within the region to alleviate suffering and provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. We are also continuing to provide refuge to those fleeing this desperate situation with a pledge to resettle 50 Afghan refugees in Ireland for both 2024 and 2025 through the Irish Refugee Protection Programme.

Once again, I condemn the gross human rights abuses carried out by the Taliban. Ireland supports the women and girls of Afghanistan and will not cease in our call for the full reversal of the Taliban’s discriminatory and draconian decrees.

Note to editors

• The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on 15 August 2021 following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
• Since taking control of the country, the Taliban authorities have passed over 110 decrees targeting women. These measures violate girls’ and women’s rights to education, work, freedom of movement, health, bodily autonomy and decision-making, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and access to justice. The Taliban’s restrictions have led to the total exclusion of women from decision-making processes and from most economic activity in Afghanistan.
• Through our work in the UN, EU and other fora, Ireland advocates for the meaningful inclusion of Afghan women and girls in decision making processes and global conversations relating to their rights and the future of their country. We seek to use our international platform to amplify Afghan voices, particularly those of women and girls.
• In June 2025, Ireland co-sponsored a UN General Assembly Resolution on the situation in Afghanistan, in an effort to maintain international focus. It was adopted by 116 votes in favour with two against, and 12 abstentions.
• Since January 2020, Ireland has provided €20 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan through our Irish Aid programme, including €4 million allocated in 2025. This included €3 million to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF), a UN Country Based Pooled Fund which supports the most vulnerable Afghan communities facing complex humanitarian crises. The AHF allocates funding to international and local humanitarian organisations including women-led, Afghan organisations. Ireland has also provided €1 million to the UNHCR Afghanistan Refugee Regional Response which supports Afghan refugees and host communities in neighbouring states, including in their work to provide educational assistance to Afghan women and girls. Ireland has also contributed to the more than €1billion in assistance pledged for Afghanistan by the EU.
• The resettlement of Afghan refugees in Ireland is managed through the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP). Under the Programme, over 700 Afghans have arrived to safety in Ireland since August 2021. Ireland has pledged to admit 50 Humanitarian admissions in both 2024 and 2025. They will be selected using objective criteria including selection of women who have exposed themselves to particular risk through their commitment to women’s/human rights or their work in the spheres of justice, politics, the media, education, culture, sport or academia and are thus vulnerable.
• Applications under the Afghan programme are currently focused on those potential beneficiaries who have support including accommodation and integration already available within the community. Community Sponsorship will be used as a means of admitting proposed beneficiaries in instances where the Community Sponsorship Group has housing sourced, integration supports in place and a Community Sponsorship group has been established under the normal terms and conditions of a Community Sponsorship Group and has engaged directly with a Regional Support Organisation in Ireland.

Ends

Press Office

15 August 2025