KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), met with several Afghan women activists and pledged to prioritize crimes of gender persecution in the Afghanistan investigation.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, December 6, the ICC said the meeting took place on the sidelines of the 23rd Assembly of States Parties in The Hague, Netherlands.
“Together with victims and civil society, the Office of the Prosecutor is prioritizing action on the crime of Gender Persecution in Afghanistan,” the ICC said.
Addressing the Assembly on Monday, Prosecutor Khan mentioned that his team “will be announcing applications for arrest warrants in the Afghanistan situation very soon.”
The ICC has been investigating alleged crimes in Afghanistan since 2003, when the country became a State Party to the Rome Statute. In 2020, the Afghan government requested a deferral of the investigation, claiming it had the capacity to conduct domestic inquiries. However, after the Taliban’s takeover, the Prosecution sought to resume the investigation in 2021, highlighting the lack of credible national efforts. The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber II later authorized the resumption, citing Afghanistan’s failure to conduct genuine proceedings or pursue its deferral request.
Late last month, a coalition of six countries—Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Luxembourg, and Mexico—requested the ICC prosecutor to prioritize the ongoing violations of women’s rights in its Afghanistan investigation.
In their referral to the ICC, the six state parties requested the prosecutor to investigate crimes committed against women and girls following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
After the referral was submitted, the ICC prosecutor was quick to respond, welcoming the move and mentioning that his office was already examining the alleged crimes outlined in the referral.
Prosecutor Khan emphasized that his office has made “considerable progress” in investigating allegations of gender persecution in Afghanistan. He assured that “concrete results” from the investigation would be announced soon.
The human rights situation in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan has continued to deteriorate over the past three years, with widespread violations committed by the regime, especially against women and girls.
The ruling regime has issued over 100 directives and edicts targeting women’s rights, including their rights to education, employment, social mobility, and other fundamental freedoms, effectively erasing them from public life.
Recently, the Taliban barred women and girls from pursuing medical education such as nursing and midwifery, which had been the only remaining option for them to receive education in the health sector.
