RASC News Agency: In the wake of declarations by the foreign ministers of Germany, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands to hold the Taliban accountable for violating the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Human Rights Watch has stated that this decision could mark the beginning of a legal pathway to achieving justice in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the Taliban’s egregious violations of women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan.
Human Rights Watch has commended the efforts of these nations, asserting that their initiative is a critical step towards achieving justice and holding the Taliban accountable for its actions. The organization further highlighted that this move could eventually result in legal proceedings at the ICJ in The Hague. As a signatory to CEDAW, Afghanistan is bound by Article 29 of the convention, which allows member states to refer unresolved disputes to the ICJ for adjudication.
In this context, Farishta Abbasi, an Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated: “The joint declaration by Germany, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands could represent the initial steps towards achieving justice in international courts for the Taliban’s flagrant human rights abuses against Afghanistani women and girls.” These four nations issued a stern warning to the Taliban, making it clear that if gender-based discrimination in Afghanistan does not end, they will pursue legal action against the group in the ICJ.
They warned the Taliban of their intention to file a formal complaint at the ICJ in The Hague. Several other nations have previously issued similar warnings to the Taliban. Not long ago, Fazel Ahmad Manawi, the former Minister of Justice under the previous Afghanistan government, submitted extensive documentation detailing the Taliban’s war crimes and acts of terrorism to the court in The Hague. However, no formal proceedings have yet been initiated based on those submissions.
