In a historic decision, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for two top Taliban leaders for widespread violations of the Rome Statute, the treaty that underpins the court’s jurisdiction. The move underscores growing international outrage over the Taliban’s systemic abuses against women and other vulnerable groups in Afghanistan since their return to power in August 2021.
The ICC states that the two men, the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and the Chief Justice of the Taliban, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, “bear criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds, under article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute.” It also states that the Taliban leaders 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, and persons whom the Taliban perceived as allies of girls and women.”
The ICC’s charges focus on the Taliban’s persistent actions that violate international laws. Specifically, the court cites the Taliban’s oppressive policies that severely curtail the rights of women and girls, “including the right to physical integrity and autonomy, to free movement and free expression, to education, to private and family life, and to free assembly.
The statement adds that more applications for “other senior members of the Taliban” will follow too.
Since regaining control of Afghanistan, the Taliban have issued a series of edicts systematically erasing women from all aspects of public life. These policies, the ICC argues, amount to gender persecution under the Rome Statute, making the Taliban leadership criminally liable for these human rights abuses.
Reactions and Accountability at Last
Human rights advocates and organizations have welcomed the news, viewing it as a long-overdue step toward accountability for the Taliban’s crimes. For Afghan women and the Afghan people in general, the news has sparked some hope of accountability in a justice-starved country while others question whether these warrants will result in tangible change. The Taliban, predictably, dismissed the arrest warrants as “baseless propaganda” and reiterated their claim to legitimacy as Afghanistan’s rulers.
Enforcing these arrest warrants may present significant challenges. While Afghanistan is a party to the Rome Statute since 2003, the two men rarely travel outside Afghanistan and there is no effective mechanism to arrest them within Afghanistan. Despite the challenges, the ICC’s arrest warrants mark a pivotal moment in the international response to the Taliban’s abuses. The move sends a powerful message: accountability and justice must be served and the international community will not stand by in the face of systematic oppression and crimes against humanity. The decision also sets a precedent for addressing similar violations around the world. For the Afghan people, particularly women, the warrants symbolize a long-overdue reckoning for the Taliban’s brutal rule and real action to stop these crimes.
