Published on: 2026-10-07
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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October 5, 2026 International Law
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued four arrest warrants for senior representatives of the Taliban movement, accusing them of persecuting women and girls in Afghanistan. According to the Rome Statute, such actions qualify as crimes against humanity.
On Monday, judges declassified the arrest warrants for the supreme leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and the chief judge Abdul-Hakim Haqqani (the existence of these warrants was announced back in July 2025), as well as for two other suspects – Habibullah Agha and Neda Mohammad Nadim.
All four warrants were issued between July and September 2025.
The court stated that there are sufficient grounds to believe that all four bear criminal responsibility for incitement to persecution of women and girls and for giving corresponding orders, which is classified as a crime against humanity under Article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, the founding document of the ICC.
Gender-based persecution
The court decision notes that the persecution was carried out on the basis of gender against girls, women, and other individuals whose behavior or self-expression did not conform to the de facto authorities of Afghanistan’s policies on sex and gender identity. The persecution was also politically motivated against individuals regarded as “allies of girls and women.”
According to the court, the crimes were committed in Afghanistan from August 15, 2021 (the moment the Taliban took power) at least until January 20, 2025.
Violation of fundamental rights
The judges found that the Taliban pursued a policy that led to serious violations of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the civilian population, including killings, deprivation of liberty, torture, rape, and abductions.
Although some Taliban rules applied to all residents of the country, the court emphasized that girls and women were subjected to targeted persecution precisely because of their gender.
Through decrees and directives, they were deprived of rights to education, the inviolability of private and family life, as well as freedom of movement, expression of opinions, thought, conscience, and religion.
Other residents of Afghanistan faced persecution if certain expressions of their sexuality or gender identity were deemed contrary to Taliban policy.
The judges also established that individuals perceived as opponents of this policy—even if they expressed disagreement only passively or through inaction—were persecuted as political opponents. This category also included those considered “allies of girls and women.”
Systemic measures
In the texts of the orders, the judges noted that the definition of the term “gender” in the Rome Statute goes beyond a purely biological understanding of sex, which corresponds to contemporary trends in the development of international law.
In their opinion, when assessing facts of persecution based on gender, it is necessary to take into account socially constructed roles, patterns of behavior, expectations, and hierarchies traditionally associated with people depending on their sex (so-called gender norms).
The ICC notes that persecution implies not only direct violence but also systemic and institutionalized measures, including the imposition of discriminatory social norms.
The ICC Prosecutor filed motions for the issuance of the first two warrants on January 23, 2025. Initially, the warrants were sealed to protect victims and witnesses, although the court disclosed the very fact of their existence.
At that time, the ICC prosecutor stated that there would be further applications concerning other senior members of the Taliban movement.
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