An international panel of judges at the People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan has ruled that the Taliban are responsible for crimes against humanity, including gender persecution and other inhumane acts committed against Afghan women and girls.
The final judgment, delivered on Thursday (December 11) in The Hague, stated that the Taliban leadership and officials have created an “institutionalized system of repression” that deprives women and girls of education, employment, freedom of movement, healthcare and the right to protest. The ruling also cited arbitrary detention, torture and gender-based violence as part of this system.
According to the judges, these actions meet the legal threshold for crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The tribunal called on the international community to end efforts to normalize the Taliban’s gender-based oppression and to support all accountability mechanisms, including the recently established investigative process for Afghanistan. It also urged global recognition of “gender apartheid” as a crime under international law and stressed that perpetrators should face prosecution before both domestic and international courts.
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, who addressed the Tribunal, welcomed the ruling and warned that attempts by some states to legitimise the Taliban amount to “granting legitimacy to a criminal regime,” a move he said would entrench discrimination and fuel long-standing cycles of violence. Bennett described the Taliban’s policies as a form of gender apartheid and urged the international community to support accountability processes, strengthen Afghan civil society—especially women-led organisations—and ensure protection for Afghan refugees. He stressed that Afghan women and girls must be included in all decision-making processes concerning the country’s future.
Describing the process as a “trial of conscience,” the tribunal held public hearings in Madrid from 7 to 10 October, where witnesses testified about imprisonment, torture, sexual violence in detention, forced confinement at home, loss of education, livelihoods and healthcare, as well as collective punishment for participating in protests. The Taliban did not present a defence during the proceedings.
The ruling comes as the ICC has already issued arrest warrants, in July, for Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the acting head of the group’s Supreme Court, for alleged crimes against humanity, including persecution under the Rome Statute. The Taliban have rejected the ICC’s authority, saying they do not consider themselves bound by the court.
