THE HAGUE, Netherlands: The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, including the group’s Supreme Leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, over the persecution of women, a crime against humanity.
The top UN court said in a statement there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani “have committed… the crime against humanity of persecution… on gender grounds.”
“While the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms,” the court said.
The court said the alleged crimes had been committed between 15 August 2021, when the Taliban seized power, and continued until at least January 20, 2025.
The Taliban had “severely deprived” girls and women of the rights to education, privacy and family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion, ICC judges said.
“In addition, other persons were targeted because certain expressions of sexuality and/or gender identity were regarded as inconsistent with the Taliban’s policy on gender.”
Taliban reject ‘nonsense’ ICC warrants
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities rejected the ICC’s arrest warrants for senior leaders, calling the move “nonsense”.
“Such nonsense announcements won’t affect the strong commitment and dedication to sharia (Islamic law)” of Taliban authorities, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, adding that the Taliban government does not recognise the court.
Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban government has imposed several restrictions on women, which the United Nations has described as a form of “gender apartheid.”
The Taliban has also permitted the public flogging of women for alleged offences.
In December 2024, the Taliban announced the closure of all national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in Afghanistan that employ Afghan women.
This decision, which further tightens the group’s restrictions on women, comes just over two years after the Taliban initially ordered NGOs to suspend employing Afghan women, citing alleged violations of dress codes.
The ICC, based in The Hague, was set up 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 member states to carry out its arrest warrants, with mixed results.
In theory, this means that anyone subject to an ICC arrest warrant cannot travel to a member state for fear of being detained.
