Minorities | Afghanistan's acting UN envoy told the General Assembly's Third Committee that freedom of religion or belief faces growing restrictions under the Taliban

ACW | October 24, 2026 — Naseer Ahmad Faiq, chargé d'affaires of Afghanistan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, said on Thursday, October 22, that freedom of religion or belief in Afghanistan faces serious and growing restrictions under Taliban rule.

The statement was delivered at the Third Committee of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, in the interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. Its text was published on the mission's website on Friday, October 23.

"In Afghanistan, this freedom continues to face serious and growing restrictions under the Taliban's rule," the statement said. It said religious and ethnic minorities, particularly Shia Muslims, including Hazaras and Ismailis, face discrimination.

The statement also cited limits on religious commemorations, interference in the affairs of religious institutions, and security threats against these groups. Imposing a single interpretation of religion weakens Afghanistan's religious and cultural diversity, the mission said.

It expressed concern at the use of religious interpretations to justify systematic discrimination against women and girls, including their exclusion from education, employment and public life. "The Taliban's discriminatory policies must not be equated with Islam or Afghan culture," the statement said.

Afghan Christians are not mentioned in the statement. No response from the Taliban's caretaker government appears in published reports.

Background: The same mission delivered a Third Committee statement on cultural rights on October 21, accusing the Taliban of suppressing Afghanistan's cultural diversity (Afghan UN envoy Faiq accuses Taliban of cultural repression).

Why it matters: In this statement Afghanistan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations named discrimination against Shia Muslims, Hazaras and Ismailis as evidence that freedom of religion or belief is narrowing in Afghanistan; the position was placed on record in the Third Committee's interactive dialogue on October 22, 2026.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Source: Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations — Afghanistan's Statement on Freedom of Religion or Belief at the UNGA81 Third Committee

Photo: 8am (X account of Naseer Ahmad Faiq)