The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has filed two applications for arrest warrants against top Taliban officials for their involvement in gender-based crimes against humanity in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, January 23, the ICC named Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the chief justice of the Taliban-led government, saying they “bear criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of persecution on gender grounds, under Article 7 (1)(h) of the Rome Statute.”
“My office has concluded that these two Afghan nationals are criminally responsible for persecuting Afghan girls and women, as well as persons whom the Taliban perceived as not conforming with their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression” Khan stated. He added that this includes “persons whom the Taliban perceived as allies of girls and women” since their coming to power in August 2021, the statement says.
Systematic suppression of rights
The statement further clarifies that the persecution involves severe deprivations of victims’ fundamental rights, including:
- Physical integrity and autonomy,
- Freedom of movement and expression,
- Access to education,
- Private and family life and
- Freedom of assembly
The ICC also accuses Taliban officials of using imprisonment, murder, rape, torture and sexual violence to suppress resistance against their policies.
These applications mark the first set of arrest warrant requests, with more such applications against other Taliban officials to be filed soon.
The charges stem from a prolonged investigation led by Karim Khan, his deputy Nazhat Shameen Khan, and professor Lisa Davis, special advisor on gender and other discriminatory crimes. The investigation relied on multiple sources, including personal interviews with witnesses.
Systemic denial of freedoms and rights of women
The Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, ousting the US-backed administration of Ashraf Ghani after 20 years. Girls and women have been gradually deprived of their rights of freedom of education, work and movement and face heavy restrictions in other aspects of their life ever since, including:
- Banning girls over 12 from attending school
- Preventing women from enrolling in universities
- Restricting women’s employment opportunities
- Barring women from traveling without a male guardian
- Shutting down NGO’s employing women
The treatment of women and deprivation of their rights has raised international concerns with the UN repeatedly expressing regrets and disappointments over Taliban’s deliberate discrimination and persecution of women.
On Friday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) observed an international day of education, noting that Afghanistan is the only country in the world which explicitly bars girls and women from all levels of education. It expressed “a profound sense of regret and deep concern for the millions of Afghan girls who continue to be denied their fundamental right to education.”
International condemnation and calls for justice
The Taliban tries to justify these policies by citing its peculiar interpretations of Islamic law (Sharia). However, the ICC clarified that such interpretations “should not and may not be used for the deprivation of fundamental human rights or the commission of crimes” against girls and women.
Several human rights groups and opposition leaders from Afghanistan welcomed the ICC’s move. Human Rights Watch called it “historic,” while Amnesty International called it an “important step towards justice for Afghan women, girls and LGBTQI persons.”
The ICC does not have its own enforcement mechanism and relies on member countries to execute its warrants. Given the fact that Akhundzada rarely travels outside Afghanistan, executing the warrant–if issued–would be a significant challenge.
