GENEVA — A group of United Nations human rights experts, including Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan, on Friday welcomed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders, calling the move a “critical step” in the pursuit of justice for victims of systematic gender persecution.
The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber this week issued arrest warrants for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, their chief justice. The court cited reasonable grounds to believe that the two men bear responsibility for crimes against humanity, including persecution on gender and political grounds.
“These arrest warrants mark a critical step forward for justice for the people of Afghanistan, especially women and girls,” the UN experts said in a joint statement. “For nearly four years, they have borne the brunt of the Taliban’s institutionalized system of gender discrimination, oppression, domination and persecution.”
The experts said the ICC’s action sent “an important message that impunity will not last forever,” and called the announcement a powerful affirmation to victims that “the international community sees, hears, and believes them.”
They urged all States Parties to the Rome Statute to fulfill their obligations in helping to bring the wanted individuals to justice, and called for increased political, diplomatic and financial support for the court’s ongoing investigations.
“The ICC is a key pillar in a broader system of accountability and plays a crucial role in ensuring justice for the most serious international crimes,” the statement said. “We call on all States — and in particular ICC member states — to safeguard the Court’s independence and uphold their legal responsibilities.”
The experts also called for expanded support for complementary mechanisms aimed at holding perpetrators of human rights violations accountable in Afghanistan, and for a coordinated international strategy centered on human rights.
They emphasized that the warrants should serve as a warning to countries considering normalizing relations with the Taliban.
“These arrest warrants must also send a clear message to member states: there should be no normalization of a regime that so explicitly denies the fundamental rights and dignity of more than half of the population,” the experts said. “To those who seek to lend legitimacy to the Taliban, we say this: you stand on the wrong side of history.”
