CANBERRA: Australia’s Foreign Ministry has said that it is pursuing legal action with international partners, including Canada, Germany and the Netherlands, to hold the Taliban regime accountable for widespread violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Australia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, cited by Afghanistan International, said that the Taliban was carrying out a campaign of sustained and systematic repression aimed at completely excluding women from public life.
According to Australia’s Foreign Ministry, the Taliban regime’s actions demonstrate a blatant disregard for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls in Afghanistan.
Information released by the Australian government said the four countries have invoked Article 29 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and activated its dispute-resolution mechanism, calling on the Taliban regime to enter good-faith negotiations.
In late 2024, Germany, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands jointly warned that they would take the Taliban to the International Court of Justice if the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan did not change.
The International Court of Justice is the United Nations’ principal judicial body and hears disputes between states, including cases involving international legal obligations.
Australian officials, cited by Afghanistan International, said that although the process would take time, Canberra remained firmly committed to supporting Afghan women and girls. The next stages could include referral to international arbitration and ultimately bringing the case before the International Court of Justice.
The Australian Foreign Ministry spokesman said pursuing legal action under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women did not alter Canberra’s position that the Taliban regime is illegitimate.
The Australian government again stressed that it does not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate representative of the Afghan people and has no intention of accepting diplomats, honorary consuls or any other representatives appointed by the group.
In line with that position, it had previously been agreed that the Afghan embassy in Canberra would cease its activities in Australia.
Australian officials said the legal initiative is grounded in the lived experiences of Afghan women and that Australia is committed to meaningful engagement with Afghan women and civil society organisations throughout the process.
As part of these efforts, Germany hosted civil society consultations in Berlin in March last year involving legal delegations from partner countries. Australia also plans to hold domestic consultations with civil society in October this year to examine the initiative in greater detail.
The joint legal action by the four Western countries comes amid continuing criticism from international human rights organisations over Taliban regime policies towards women.
UNICEF and Amnesty International have again called on the Taliban regime to lift all restrictions on girls’ education and allow women and girls to return immediately to schools and universities.
Amnesty International has also called for urgent and coordinated international action to pressure the Taliban regime to reopen girls’ schools.
More than 20 countries have backed the decision by Germany, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands to pursue a case against the Taliban before the International Court of Justice. They said they condemned human rights violations in Afghanistan, particularly gender discrimination against women and girls by the Taliban regime.
Albania, Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Finland, Honduras, Ireland, Iceland, South Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Morocco, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden are among the 23 countries supporting the initiative by Germany, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands.
