Amnesty International lauds ICC’s arrest warrants for Taliban leaders
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, accusing them of crimes against humanity.
Amnesty International has welcomed this as a significant step toward justice for Afghan women, girls, and marginalized groups.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, described the move as a “critical milestone” in addressing systematic rights violations under Taliban rule.
She emphasized the need for accountability for actions that deny fundamental rights such as education and free movement. Amnesty urged the ICC to broaden its investigation to include alleged extrajudicial killings, torture, and the persecution of ethnic minorities like the Hazara community.
The ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced the arrest warrant applications on January 23, with the Pre-Trial Chamber reviewing them. The investigation into Afghanistan, initially launched in 2007, resumed in 2022 after concluding that justice mechanisms were absent under Taliban rule.
Amnesty highlighted widespread abuses in its 2022 and 2023 reports, calling for urgent international action to protect human rights and hold the Taliban accountable for systemic discrimination and violence.
