ICC prosecutor seeks arrest of Taliban leaders over persecution of women

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The Hague: The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said on Thursday that he is seeking arrest warrants against senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan for crimes against humanity and atrocities against women.

Karim Khan said that Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakeem Haqqani were “criminally charged with crimes against humanity of sexual persecution”. There are reasonable grounds for assuming responsibility.”

Khan said Afghan women and girls face “unprecedented, unrelenting and persistent persecution” by the Taliban.

“Our action signals that the status quo is not acceptable for women and girls in Afghanistan,” Khan added.

ICC judges will now consider Khan’s request before deciding whether to issue warrants – a process that could take weeks or months.

Based in The Hague, this court was established to rule on the world’s worst crimes, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It has no police force of its own and relies on its 125 member states to execute its warrants – with mixed results.

In principle this means that no person subject to an ICC arrest warrant can travel to a member state for fear of being detained.

Khan warned that he would soon seek additional applications for other Taliban officials.

‘a victory’

Akhundzada inherited the leadership of the Taliban after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike in May 2016.

Believed to be in his 60s or 70s, the Taliban movement’s birthplace in southern Kandahar is ruled by a separate supreme leader by decree.

Haqqani was a close associate of Taliban founder Mullah Omar and served as a negotiator during talks with US representatives in 2020.

ICC Prosecutor Khan argued that the Taliban are “brutally” suppressing resistance through crimes “including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearances and other inhumane acts.” are”.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement that the prosecutor’s actions further undermine the Taliban’s exclusion of women and girls from public life. It should be brought back on the international agenda.

“This is an important moment for Afghan women and girls who have been waiting a long time for justice,” Heather Barr, deputy director of women’s rights at HRW, told AFP. “Other efforts to hold people accountable.”

The move was applauded by Afghan women activists, including Shari Barakzai, a former Afghan lawmaker and former ambassador to the ousted government in Norway.

“It’s a victory,” he told AFP from London.

“It can also be regarded as a major achievement for feminism globally… and for women in Afghanistan in particular.”

Richard Bennett, the UN special representative for human rights in Afghanistan, called the move “an important step towards accountability in Afghanistan…” on X.

‘Sex Discrimination’

After returning to power in August 2021, Taliban officials promised a more lenient rule than their first reins during 1996-2001. But they quickly imposed restrictions on women and girls, who the United Nations has labeled “gender and race”.

The rulings have squeezed women and girls out of public life.

They have barred girls from secondary school and women from university, making Afghanistan the only country in the world to impose such restrictions.

Taliban officials imposed restrictions on women working for non-governmental groups and other jobs, forcing thousands of women to lose government jobs — or be paid to stay at home.

Beauty salons have been closed and women are barred from visiting public parks, gyms and baths, as well as traveling long distances without a male escort.

A “vice and virtue” law promulgated last summer ordered women not to sing or read poetry in public and to keep their voices and bodies “hidden” outside the home.

The few remaining female TV presenters wear tight headscarves and face masks in accordance with Akhundzada’s 2022 order that women cover everything except their eyes and hands.

The international community has condemned the sanctions, which remain a key point in Taliban officials’ pursuit of official recognition, which they have not received from any state.

Taliban officials have rejected international criticism of their policies, saying that all rights of citizens are provided under Islamic law.