Afghanistan: Calls for legal action against Taliban is 'vital step' to secure justice for women and girls

Taliban’s violation of women’s and girls’ rights likely amounts to a crime against humanity

The international community should pursue all available avenues to end ongoing human rights violations in Afghanistan

Governments also need to protect all those fleeing discrimination and oppression

‘The Taliban have made life for Afghan women and girls intolerable. They have erased them from all spheres of life’- Agnès Callamard

Responding to the announcement by Australia, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands during the UN General Assembly yesterday that they will initiate legal proceedings that could lead to action at the International Court of Justice against Afghanistan for numerous violations of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:

“The Taliban have made life for Afghan women and girls intolerable. They have erased them from all spheres of life and systematically stripped away their rights and dignity.

“Amnesty International welcomes any steps by states to hold the Taliban accountable under international law for the widespread and institutionalised violation of women’s and girls’ human rights, which most likely amount to the crime against humanity of gender persecution.

“The international community should pursue all available avenues to end ongoing pervasive human rights violations in Afghanistan, including through the International Court of Justice.

“This is a vital step towards securing justice for violations, it should be complemented by other comprehensive efforts to address the full range of past and ongoing atrocities, including those against women and girls, that the Taliban and other state and non-state actors have committed throughout the continuous cycle of conflict in Afghanistan for more than 40 years.

“The world must act in solidarity with the courageous women and girls of Afghanistan by advocating for their rights and holding the Taliban regime to account.

“This welcome legal initiative should also serve as a timely reminder that governments have a responsibility to provide international protection to all those fleeing systematic discrimination and oppression in Afghanistan.”