AFBT WELCOMES ICC APPLICATION FOR TALIBAN ARREST WARRANTS

Afghans For A Better issues the following statement in response to the ICC’s decision in the

AFBT WELCOMES ICC APPLICATION FOR TALIBAN ARREST WARRANTS

January 24, 2024 WASHINGTON D.C. - 

Yesterday, the International Criminal Court issued applications for arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Akhunzada and Chief Justice Haqqani for gender persecution. This moment is a small step towards achieving justice and defeating the Taliban’s gender apartheid, a uniquely harmful policy impacting millions of Afghan women and girls. We applaud Afghan women’s rights groups for their efforts to codify gender apartheid as a crime against humanity and fighting for the recognition of the systematic gender persecution occurring in countries like Afghanistan.

“The ICC recognizes the profound and unique suffering of Afghan girls, women and queer people,” says Arash Azizzada, co-director for Afghans For A Better Tomorrow. “This important moment is a small movement of levity, but we will not rest until Afghans women and girls are able to find their moment of liberation.”

For decades, Afghans have been all too familiar with the impunity for those who have harmed our people. The ICC’s action is the first step towards ensuring the Taliban is held accountable for its crimes. Significantly, italso marks the first time the ICC has sought to prosecute someone for targeting LGBTQI+ people. 

We applaud this news while also encouraging the ICC to investigate potential war crimes committed by all sides, specifically by American and NATO forces in the twenty years between 2001 and 2021.

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Afghans For A Better Tomorrow aims to organize the Afghan-American community to bring about systemic change in the U.S. and beyond to ensure all Afghans have lives of safety, dignity, and freedom.