Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for two senior Taliban officials, calling the move a vital step toward accountability for human rights abuses in Afghanistan.
Liz Evenson, HRW’s director for international justice, said the warrants send an important signal that “repressive actions” will not go unpunished. “The international community should back the ICC in its critical work in Afghanistan and globally,” she added.
Evenson urged the prosecutor’s office to keep investigating alleged crimes by the Taliban, Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), former Afghan security forces and United States military personnel to ensure justice for all victims.
HRW noted that meaningful justice is essential to breaking Afghanistan’s cycle of violence and impunity. Evenson said the ICC’s action should refocus global attention on the Taliban’s persecution of women, girls and people of diverse gender identities.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have been accused of imposing “gender apartheid” by barring women from education, work and public life, as well as carrying out arbitrary arrests and torture. In September 2023, HRW reported that Taliban authorities had committed crimes against humanity through gender-based persecution of Afghan women and girls.
The organisation says the Taliban have issued more than 100 decrees severely restricting women’s and girls’ rights, including freedom of movement, expression and assembly.
