The HAGUE – Today, I can announce that my Office has filed two applications for warrants of arrest before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court in the Situation in Afghanistan. These filings have benefited from the contributions of our dedicated Afghanistan Unified Team under the supervision of Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan, and multiple experts, including Special Adviser on Gender and Other Discriminatory Crimes Professor Lisa Davis.
Since the 31 October 2022 decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber to authorise the resumption of my Office’s investigation, after a period of deferral, my Office has been independently and impartially examining alleged crimes committed against Afghan civilians.
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After a thorough investigation and on the basis of evidence collected, my Office submits that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah AKHUNDZADA, and the Chief Justice of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, 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.
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, and persons whom the Taliban perceived as allies of girls and women. This persecution was committed from at least 15 August 2021 until the present day, across the territory of Afghanistan.
This ongoing persecution entails numerous severe deprivations of victims’ fundamental rights, contrary to international law, 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.
These severe deprivations of fundamental rights were also committed in connection with other Rome Statute crimes. Perceived resistance or opposition to the Taliban was, and is, brutally repressed through the commission of crimes including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts.
These are the first applications for arrest warrants in the Situation in Afghanistan. My Office will file further applications for other senior members of the Taliban soon.
These requests for warrants of arrest are based on diverse evidence, including expert and witness testimonies, official decrees, forensic reports, statements by the suspects themselves and other Taliban representatives, and audio-visual material. Our multi-disciplinary investigative team screened and interviewed potential witnesses, and identified investigative leads, experts and cooperation partners. To ensure that the gender dimension of the alleged crimes is properly addressed, the Office has integrated gender experts in its investigative team, along with country experts and psycho-social experts.
In making these applications, my Office seeks to demonstrate that our commitment to pursue accountability for gender-based crimes, including gender persecution, remains an absolute priority.
These applications recognise that Afghan women and girls as well as the LGBTQI+ community are facing an unprecedented, unconscionable and ongoing persecution by the Taliban. Our action signals that the status quo for women and girls in Afghanistan is not acceptable. Afghan survivors, in particular women and girls, deserve accountability before a court of law.
My Office further submits that the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia should not, and may not be used to justify the deprivation of fundamental human rights or the related commission of Rome Statute crimes.
In making these applications, I wish to acknowledge the remarkable courage and resilience of Afghan victims and witnesses who cooperated with my Office’s investigations. I am grateful for the invaluable support for this investigation from Afghan civil society, and from the Office’s partners from various national authorities and international organisations.
The judges of the International Criminal Court will now determine whether these applications for arrest warrants establish reasonable grounds to believe that the named individuals committed the alleged crimes. If the judges issue the warrants, my Office will work closely with the Registrar in all efforts to arrest the individuals. As in all situations, I request States Parties to fully cooperate with the Court and help it in enforcing any judicial order.
My Office’s investigation in the Situation in Afghanistan continues. We pursue our investigation into alleged crimes by individual members of the Taliban and the Islamic State – Khorasan Province. As I have underlined since taking office, Afghan victims and survivors have suffered injustice for too long. We remain unwavering in our commitment to ensure that they are not forgotten, and to demonstrate through our work, through the effective and impartial application of international law, that all lives have equal value.
More information
- Prosecution’s application under article 58 for a warrant of arrest against Haibatullah AKHUNDZADA
- Prosecution’s application under article 58 for a warrant of arrest against Abdul Hakim HAQQANI
- Situation in Afghanistan
- Policy on Gender-based Crimes
- Policy on the Crime of Gender Persecution
- Office of the Prosecutor
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