The Hague Court Separates Taliban Case from Afghanistan War Crimes Investigation
Judges of the Second Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court have decided to investigate allegations related to the Taliban administration independently from the broader “Situation in Afghanistan” case following the group’s return to power. This move could allow for a focused examination of the policies and restrictions imposed on women and girls.
According to released judicial documents, the three-judge panel requested in mid-June that the Prosecutor’s Office, if legal conditions are met, initiate a separate investigation into new charges against the Taliban administration. This decision effectively separates this aspect from the extensive investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan that has been ongoing since 2020.
The judges argued that allegations concerning the conduct of the Taliban administration after August 2021 differ fundamentally in nature and context from the group’s actions during prior armed conflicts. They stated that the new allegations mainly relate to the enforcement of discriminatory policies, rulings, and restrictions against women and girls while holding actual power, rather than behaviors of a rebel group on the battlefield.
The new case gained prominence after six countries—Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Luxembourg, and Mexico—referred the issue of crimes against women and girls in Afghanistan to the Hague court in November 2024. Subsequently, in January 2025, the ICC Prosecutor requested arrest warrants for Hibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the head of the Taliban Supreme Court, on charges of crimes against humanity through gender-based persecution. The court issued the arrest warrants for both a few months later.
Alongside this development, the Second Pre-Trial Chamber noted that the initial investigations into Afghanistan in recent years have made little judicial progress. The Prosecutor may also consider formally closing that earlier case if no further prosecutions are anticipated.
The ICC Prosecutor’s Office has yet to make a final decision regarding the official commencement of independent investigations against the Taliban administration or the possible closure of the prior Afghanistan case. The initial ICC investigation authorized in 2020 encompassed allegations involving the Taliban, ISIS-Khorasan, former Afghan security forces, as well as U.S. military personnel and CIA operatives.
