Nine UN Security Council Member States Support the Request for Arrest Warrants Against Taliban Leaders

The statement, signed by Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom, condemns the Taliban’s "systematic gender-based discrimination and gender-based violence" against women. It further states that the Taliban have issued more than 80 decrees aimed at eliminating women from social life.

“These unacceptable and unjustifiable actions institutionalize a system of gender-based discrimination, harassment, and repression,” the statement reads.

The representatives of the nine countries also pointed to the Taliban’s enforcement of the so-called "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" law, as well as the ban on female education in medical institutions, as measures restricting the movement and expression of women and girls.

The statement urges the Taliban to immediately repeal their discriminatory policies and systematic violations of women’s and girls’ rights, which have stripped them of their fundamental freedoms.

The countries also expressed their support for international efforts to hold the Taliban accountable for these widespread violations, including the ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Taliban leaders.

It is worth noting that a few months ago, nearly 20 countries referred the Taliban’s human rights violations to the ICC. Meanwhile, the Taliban claim they uphold women’s rights within the framework of Islamic Sharia and have announced their decision to withdraw Afghanistan’s membership from the International Criminal Court.