Thomas Ruttig

An Inclusive Analysis Of European Union’s Engagements With The Afghan Taliban Since 2021 

Eurasia Review, 19 May 2026 A theory-heavy but still very comprehensive and interesting look at what the author – Abdul Wasi Popalzay, a doctoral researcher in Political Science and International Relations at the Central University of Punjab, India – describes as a descent from “principled pragmatism, maintaining normative rhetoric and institutionalized conditionality while strategically adapting […]

19 May 2026

Selling children to survive: Afghan fathers forced to make impossible choices

BBC, 19 May 2026 A distressing story how increasing poverty caused by the post-2021 economic and humanitarian crisis (caused by Taleban restrictions and western donors’ disengagement) forces families to sell children to feed the remaining ones. This report indirectly provides background to the recently published Taleban “regulations of divorce” that, among other points, legalises many […]

19 May 2026

Afghan Women’s Health Worsens Amid Funding Cuts and Restrictions: AAN

Kabul Tribune, 19 May 2026 The Afghan website summarises AAN’s latest report, “Holding the Line in Afghanistan: Women’s health in crisis and one NGO’s response”, and emphasises its conclusion that “long-term improvement depends on lifting restrictions on female education and increasing investment in the health sector.”

19 May 2026

Neues Scheidungsrecht in Afghanistan: Die Taliban machen Frauen eine Scheidung fast unmöglich

Tageszeitung, 18 May 2026 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, for the German daily taz, looks at the Taleban’s new divorce regulations which – among other things – legalise (exclude from divorce) most forms of child marriage. While Iit grants the chance to girls/women, when reaching puberty, to go to court to file for annulation, Afghan civil society […]

18 May 2026

Cross-border civilian casualties in Afghanistan: January – March 2026 [incl. the Kabul rehab centre bombing]

UNAMA, 12 May 2026 The most recent of UNAMA’s report on civilian casualties of the wars in Afghanistan, this times looking at casualties of the latest round of Afghan-Pakistani fighting. It also contains a summary of “airstrikes by Pakistani military forces [that] impacted the Omid Drug Rehabilitation Hospital (Omid Hospital), a facility for the treatment […]

12 May 2026

Neues Jobangebot: Praktikum bei den Taliban in Deutschland

Pioneer Media, 11 May 2026 The now de facto Taleban-controlled Afghan diplomatic missions in Bonn, Berlin, and Munich are now seeking interns. AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted here as saying: Das Praktikumsangebot riecht nach einer PR-Aktion der Taliban nach dem Motto: Wir sind hier, wir arbeiten weiter. Die Taliban könnten so versuchen, Gleichgesinnte zu rekrutieren […]

11 May 2026

“We stopped classes and tried to flee”—Pakistan Targets Afghan Civilians in Scorched-Earth Military Campaign

Drop Site News, 6 May 2026 In this article, Emran Feroz who writes about Pakistan’s latest escalation of its war with the Afghan Taleban regime in Kunar province and calls it – echoing local Afghans – “a scorched-earth military campaign”, quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on China’s position: “Beijing has not publicly reacted on the renewed […]

6 May 2026

حذف زنان از دست‌گاه قضایی افغانستان؛ دست‌رسی به عدالت محدود شده است

AWNA and Ravi Zan, 4 May 2026 In two news items, the Afghan Women’s News Agency (AWNA) and Ravi Zan news agency summarise AAN’s latest report by Hamed Pakteen, the former titled “Practising Law Under the Emirate: Afghan defence lawyers fight for space in a transformed justice system.”

4 May 2026

Afghan Defence Lawyers Struggle for Space Under Taliban Justice System, AAN Says

Kabul Tribune, 3 May 2026 In this news item, the diaspora-based Afghan publication summarises AAN’s latest report by Hamed Pakteen, titled “Practising Law Under the Emirate: Afghan defence lawyers fight for space in a transformed justice system.” Also the blog of the IAPL Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers picks up this AAN report.

3 May 2026

Themenschwerpunkt Afghanistan: Politisch gefestigt, wirtschaftlich auf wackligen Beinen, humanitär katastrophal 

Thomas Ruttig •

Asylmagazin 3/2026: AAN’s Thomas Ruttig contributed a comprehensive analysis of the current political, socio-economic and humanitarian situation in Taleban-ruled Afghanistan for the German-based specialised magazine that provides up-to-date background information on legal issues surrounding the topics of flight and migration that are relevant for lawyers and NGOs providing advice to refugees and asylum seekers and […]

30 Apr 2026

The Costs of Inaction on Girls’: Education and Women’s Labour Force Participation in Afghanistan

UNICEF, 27 April 2026 The study states that “UNICEF estimates produced in 2023 showed that the Afghan economy could lose the equivalent of up to 12.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) of 2022 if the decrees on girls’ education and women’s labour force participation remained in place through 2030. Conversely, if the decrees […]

27 Apr 2026

War with Pakistan halts school for Afghan border children

AFP, 17 April 2026 About 12,000 students displaced or affected by the war with Pakistan need safe spaces to learn or catch up on classes in Afghanistan. A short reportage from Kunar.

17 Apr 2026