On Thursday, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants for two senior Taliban officials: Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani.

They are accused of crimes against humanity on the grounds of gender-based persecution under the Rome Statute of the court, which sets out the duty of every State signatory to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes.

“These applications recognise that Afghan women and girls as well as the LGBTQI+ community are facing an unprecedented, unconscionable and ongoing persecution by the Taliban,” Mr. Khan said in a statement.

Since reclaiming power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have implemented a series of oppressive measures that have systematically stripped women of their rights, including barring them from employment, public spaces and education beyond the age of 12.

The ICC Prosecutor emphasised that these acts constitute severe deprivations of fundamental rights, including physical autonomy, freedom of expression and access to education – rights protected under international law.

Landmark decision against impunity

This marks the first time the ICC has issued arrest warrant applications concerning Afghan.

Mr. Khan said the filings are supported by diverse evidence, including expert testimony, forensic reports and numerous decrees issued by the de facto authorities.

The ICC’s Afghanistan team, under the supervision of Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan and Special Adviser on Gender and Discriminatory Crimes Lisa Davis, has played a critical role in investigating these allegations, the prosecutor continued.

These severe deprivations of fundamental rights were committed in connection with other Rome Statute crimes, Mr. Khan explained.

“Perceived resistance or opposition to the Taliban was, and is, brutally repressed through the commission of crimes including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts,” he said.

He underscored that the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia – the Islamic legal system derived from the Quran – cannot be used to justify such violations of fundamental human rights.

Victims’ resilience

“In making these applications, I wish to acknowledge the remarkable courage and resilience of Afghan victims and witnesses who cooperated with my Office’s investigations,” Mr. Khan noted.

“We remain unwavering in our commitment to ensure that they are not forgotten, and to demonstrate through our work, through the effective and impartial application of international law,” he affirmed, underscoring that “all lives have equal value.”

The Prosecutor also expressed gratitude to Afghan civil society and international partners for their support.

Next steps

The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber will now determine whether these applications for arrest warrants establish reasonable grounds to believe that the named individuals committed the alleged crimes.

“If the judges issue the warrants, my Office will work closely with the Registrar in all efforts to arrest the individuals,” said Mr. Khan, also announcing that further applications against other senior Taliban leaders are forthcoming.

“Afghan victims and survivors have suffered injustice for too long,” he stressed. 

The new decade of action starting in January, will build on the progress of the past 10 years to advance the human rights of the diaspora worldwide.

“Racial justice demands collective action,” Mr. Türk said.

“To secure the full rights and freedoms of people of African descent, States and all of us must effectively confront the legacies of enslavement and colonialism, dismantle systemic racism and deliver reparatory justice. We need bold action to deliver real change,” the High Commissioner added.

As coordinator for the International Decade, he said another important objective is the elaboration and adoption of a draft UN declaration on the respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of people of African descent.

Countries change course

During the first ten years of action – despite persistent challenges – more than 30 countries changed their laws and policies to tackle racial discrimination and address specific issues faced by people of African descent – in some cases for the first time.

This included the creation of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, as well as International Days to celebrate the contributions of the diaspora, including women and girls.

Strong leadership, political will and increased financial and human resources are crucial to deliver on the ultimate goals of recognition, justice and development for people of African descent.

It is also essential to ensure their meaningful participation in policies and decisions affecting Africans’ lives.

The UN rights office, OHCHR, will continue working to foster concrete and meaningful action, including support for the High Commissioner’s Agenda towards transformative change for racial justice and equality, as well as the eight UN human rights anti-racism mechanisms.

The head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism Investigating Serious Crimes in Syria (IIIM), Robert Petit, told reporters in Geneva that with an “interlocking series of crime scenes” across the country now accessible, there is the possibility of accessing evidence and “finally” establishing the fate of tens of thousands who had been “illegally arrested, detained and suffered years of violence inside the prison system”, almost 14 years after the start of a brutal state crackdown against Arab Spring protesters.

Golan communities face evacuation orders

Meanwhile, UN humanitarians warned that Syria’s humanitarian crisis is worsening, with fighting in the northeast, including in the occupied Golan Heights. “There have been orders issued by the Israeli forces to some villages for people to vacate, and that people have resisted leaving,” reported the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

Asked if there was anything new that he’d learned since the fall of the Assad regime just days ago, Mr. Petit underscored the IIIM’s eight years of investigative experience and said that what had struck him the most was seeing “the horror of the impact of the crimes on victims coming out of detention centres and on families”.

Established in 2016 by the General Assembly, the IIIM is mandated to collect, preserve and analyze evidence to support competent jurisdictions in investigating and prosecuting international crimes committed in Syria from March 2011 onwards. These may include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Engaging with new Syrian authority

Mr. Petit stressed that the previous Syrian Government had never recognized the IIIM’s legitimacy and failed to engage with the mechanism, despite many attempts. While preparing for future accountability processes, the IIIM has collected evidence from many sources, accumulating 283 terabytes of data which could be used to support current and future jurisdictions. Over the years it had received over 400 requests for assistance from 16 different jurisdictions and was able to support more than half of them with evidence and analysis.

With new opportunities emerging amid the fast-moving political situation, “in the past week, we have received at least four different requests for assistance from jurisdictions”, Mr. Petit said. “If a jurisdiction had for some years now, an open file on the crimes committed by agents of the regime with no possibility of gathering evidence, that file was probably put on the side for a while, but now it has been reactivated.”

Investigators in demand

The UN investigator said that he expects “increased demand” for the IIIM’s support. However, the destruction of potential evidence during the Syrian rebels’ flash offensive – while “quite understandable” given the fast-evolving situation – were a major concern.

The UN investigator spoke of “papers strewn all over the floor, people leaving with computers, hard drives burned and smashed”, and stressed the need for a concerted preservation effort “from everyone”, with the IIIM playing its part in this process.

The mechanism has “reiterated through a communication to the Syrian missions” in Geneva and New York its “willingness to engage and to go to Syria to fulfill our mandate”.

“We are awaiting a response. And as soon as that response is forthcoming, we will deploy,” Mr. Petit insisted.

He also noted, with hope, “a stated awareness from the transitional authorities, and from Syrian civil society actors of the need to preserve evidence.”

“When you’re talking about a government, a state apparatus, who for 14 years used every aspect of that apparatus to commit crimes, you will have a massive amount of documentation left behind.”

Several national and international actors have offered to help the transitional authorities to preserve evidence, Mr. Petit said, expressing hope that these efforts will continue. The situation “varies from governorate to governorate” and part of the country “is still very much under an armed conflict,” he warned.

“It’s a very delicate and fluid situation.”

Asked about reports that Syrians have accused the UN of arriving too late to help them, Mr. Petit said, “if the crime has been committed, it’s already too late, right? It’s always too late”.

He stressed that now, the call to the international community has been heard. “You’ve seen statements from the UN, multiple international actors, multiple states, regional bodies” amid a level of access which was not possible just 13 days ago. 

“Now that we have access, I think there is a real expression of commitment to helping Syria rebuild. And we’re certainly hoping to be part of that,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned that Syria faces a deepening humanitarian crisis amid ongoing fighting in the northeast and in the occupied Golan Heights. In recent days Israeli forces have advanced beyond the zone established by the May 1974 Agreement on Disengagement for the first time in 50 years and have reportedly carried out more than 500 airstrikes since the overthrow of the Assad regime.

Israeli military in spotlight

Rema Jamous Imseis, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said that in the Golan, “there have been orders issued by the Israeli forces to some villages for people to vacate, and that people have resisted leaving”.

The UNHCR official stressed the “massive humanitarian needs” in the country, with 90 per cent of the population living below the poverty line, and the need for donors to also support “early recovery and reconstruction” so that Syria can absorb an expected influx of returning citizens and move towards self-sufficiency.

Both inbound and outbound population movements across the borders with Lebanon, Türkiye and Jordan have been observed amid the current “dynamic, fluid situation,” Ms. Imseis said. Next year, UNHCR expects to see as many as one million Syrians return to their country between January and June.

Ms. Imseis warned against any forced returns, highlighting a “non-returns advisory” issued by the agency on Monday and calling on host countries to respect the rights of asylum-seekers and the principle of non-refoulement.

“It’s simply too early to see how safe it’s going to be,” she said. “We need to respect the right of voluntary, safe and dignified returns for Syrians…And people simply cannot, after 14 years of displacement, pack a bag overnight and return to a country that has been devastated by conflict.”