RASC News Agency: United Nations experts have hailed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to request arrest warrants for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the chief justice of the group’s Supreme Court. The UN has described this as a pivotal step toward achieving justice in Afghanistan. In a statement issued on Friday, January 24, the UN characterized the move as a stern warning to the Taliban. The UN cautioned that any nation seeking to normalize relations with the Taliban must acknowledge its complicity in the group’s atrocities. The statement underscored that the Taliban have perpetrated crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, warranting accountability at the highest levels.
UN experts reassured the Afghanistani people, particularly women and girls, that the ICC is addressing their grievances. They emphasized that this action delivers a resounding message to the international community: the Taliban’s discriminatory and misogynistic policies in Afghanistan are violations of international law and constitute heinous crimes. The UN further highlighted that these actions, as defined under the Rome Statute, qualify as grave offenses that demand urgent attention. The organization stressed that such crimes cannot and will not evade justice. Welcoming the ICC chief prosecutor’s efforts, the UN experts urged the immediate issuance of the arrest warrants.
They called on the global community to stand united against the Taliban’s systematic crimes in Afghanistan and to take more decisive actions. The ICC prosecutor’s request for the arrest of the Taliban’s leader has garnered widespread national and international support. As the world awaits subsequent developments, the critical question remains whether this initiative will alter the Taliban’s approach or signal a shift in their governance.
