The Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday announced that it is seeking arrests of two Taliban leaders for their role in gender-based crimes.
A statement issued by the office of the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, requests approval for warrants for Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, chief justice of the Taliban's supreme court. The charge: They are "criminally responsible" for persecuting Afghan girls and women, their allies and those the Taliban perceives as not conforming with their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression.
The statement says persecutions have been committed since at least Aug. 15, 2021, the day the Taliban took over Afghanistan following the collapse of the Western-backed government. Since then, the Taliban has imposed over 100 decrees restricting the rights of women and girls, including bans or restrictions on education, employment, public and political participation, dress and travel.
The request for arrest warrants would need to be approved by the court, with cooperation from ICC member states.
The Taliban has denounced the call for arrests on their website, terming them as "devoid of just legal basis, duplicitous in nature and politically motivated."
Support for the arrest warrants
Even without final approval for the warrants, Afghan activists and international human rights groups have welcomed the move.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), which has been investigating the Taliban's human rights abuses, welcomed the move as a milestone.
"With no justice in sight in Afghanistan, the ICC warrant requests offer an essential pathway for a measure of accountability," said Liz Evenson, HRW's international justice director.
"This long overdue decision is a vital move toward accountability and a small step towards enhancing justice to women and girls who are the direct victims of the Taliban's systematic abuse, discrimination and persecution," said Samira Hamidi, an Afghan women's rights activist currently based in the United Kingdom.
Her voice was echoed by Mariam Safi, founding director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies.
"I'm really glad to see the ICC taking this step and acknowledging that the conditions women and girls are facing in Afghanistan amount to an international crime," she said, adding that the decision feels like a "significant recognition of women's plight."
Safi, however, also expressed concern that the announcement might lead to even worse treatment.
"The Taliban may want to demonstrate to the international community that they don't see this as a legitimate move and might even double down, issuing more restrictive edicts to strengthen their position in negotiations with the international community, potentially trying to pressure or discredit the ICC," she said.
A note of caution
Others like Tamana Paryani, an Afghanistan women's rights activist, remained cautious.
"We met with ICC representatives last year, and the arrest plans were discussed. Whether the arrests will actually take place and the Taliban will answer for their crimes remains to be seen," she said.
Paryani and her sister were detained by the Taliban in January 2022 for their roles in organizing protests against the Taliban's restrictions on women's rights. Since fleeing to Germany, Paryani has talked extensively about her detention and torture in a Taliban prison. Paryani's testimony is part of the ICC investigation of the Taliban.
"In the three years [since the Taliban takeover], women in Afghanistan have lost so much because of their gender. There is no other country where women are banned from schools, universities, parks, etc. The Taliban have created this apartheid state, and they should have to answer for their crimes," Paryani said, referring to a demand that Afghan women activists, alongside their Iranian counterparts, have been making for many years — that gender apartheid be recognized as a crime under international law.
Safi pointed out that the ICC doesn't have its own police force and depends on support from signatory countries to carry out arrests.
"By backing the ICC's investigations and supporting its decisions, the international community can demonstrate its commitment to justice and help ensure that these efforts have a real impact," she said.
Hamidi urged the ICC to expand their investigation of the Taliban for other crimes and human rights abuses.
"While I welcome this announcement as a women's rights activist, I am also fearful that it does not cover the widespread human rights violations and crimes that the Taliban are committing, violating international human rights laws," she said.
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