Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of the United Nations he announced on Thursday that he sought arrest warrants for the two top leaders The ruling Taliban regime in Afghanistan for crimes against humanity against the group treatment of women and girls.

Prosecutor Karim Khan said that after a thorough investigation and review of the evidence, his office found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and the group’s chief judge, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, are “criminally responsible for the crime against humanity of gender-based persecution.” under the treaty established by the ICC, known as Rome Statute.

Khan said his office concluded that both men were “criminally responsible for the persecution of Afghan girls and women, as well as individuals whom the Taliban considered inconsistent with their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression, and individuals whom the Taliban considered allies of the girl and women.”

The statement said the alleged crimes had been committed “at least” since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August 2021 “to date,” across the country.

“This ongoing persecution entails numerous serious deprivations of the victims’ fundamental rights, contrary to international law, including the right to physical integrity and autonomy, to free movement and freedom of expression, to education, to private and family life and to free assembly,” he said. Khan.

The Taliban leadership did not immediately respond to Khan’s request.

Of regaining control over Afghanistanthe Taliban imposed a long list of harsh laws targeting women and girls. The measures pushed women out of public life and drew condemnation from much of the international community, including accusations of gender-based apartheid.

Under the guise of Islamic Sharia law, these measures deprived girls and women of formal education from the age of 12, the right to visit public parks or travel alone, or even to see a doctor unless accompanied by a male companion.

Last month, the Taliban imposed a ban on women training as midwives and nurses – another devastating blow in a country that already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. According to the World Bank, 620 women die for every 100,000 live births in Afghanistan due to pregnancy complications.

Akhundzada recently ordered that windows in homes facing areas used by women, such as kitchens, yards or wells, be covered.

Elizabeth Evenson, Director of the International Justice Program in New York

Human Rights Watch said in a statement Thursday that it hopes the request for an ICC warrant against senior Taliban figures will put “the systematic exclusion of women and girls from public life and the targeting of LGBT people back on the radar of the international community.”

Evenson said the Taliban’s gender-based repression had “accelerated with total impunity” since the summer of 2021 and that “with no justice in sight in Afghanistan, demands for a warrant offer an essential path to some measure of accountability.”

She also urged the ICC prosecutor to reconsider his decision “to deprioritize the investigation into abuses by former Afghan government forces and US personnel” who have been stationed in the country for two decades. The investigation into the actions of American troops was started by Khan’s predecessor.

Khan said the request for international arrest warrants underscores the ICC’s commitment to bringing those responsible for gender-based crimes to justice, and more arrests and warrants for other senior Taliban members are expected to follow as the court’s investigation into the situation in Afghanistan.

“The judges of the International Criminal Court will now determine whether these requests for arrest warrants establish a reasonable basis to believe that the named individuals have committed the alleged crimes. If the judges issue the warrants, my Office will work closely with the Secretary in all efforts to arrest the individuals” , Khan said, adding that, “as in all situations, I ask the States Parties to cooperate fully with the Court and assist it in enforcing any court orders.”

Although the ICC has the power to issue arrest warrants – and has recently done so for both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuthe country’s former defense chief and senior Hamas leader — has no means to independently carry out such orders.

This depends on the individual countries that are signatories to the treaty establishing the court decide whether wanted persons should be brought under ICC warrants, how and when they enter the territory of that country.

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and therefore is not obligated to detain anyone under an ICC warrant.

Even if the ICC issues warrants for Akhundzada or other Taliban leaders, it is unlikely that they would attempt to visit any country where they could risk arrest. Almost the entire world refused to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan after they regained control of the country.

Khan himself faced accusations that for more than a year he tried to force the assistant to have sex and groped her against her will. He categorically rejected the allegations, saying there was “no truth to the suggestions of misconduct”. ICC officials said the claims may have been made as part of an Israeli intelligence smear campaign.