Today, 5 October 2026, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or "the Court") issued a decision unsealing four warrants of arrest issued in the Afghanistan situation on 8 July 2025 and 9 September 2025 against Mr Haibatullah Akhundzada ('Mr Akhundzada') and Mr Abdul Hakim Haqqani ('Mr Haqqani'), as well as against Mr Habibullah Agha ('Mr Agha') and Mr Neda Mohammad Nadim ('Mr Nadim'). The existence of the first two warrants was made public on 8 July 2025.
In the warrants of arrest, the Chamber, in line with current developments in international law, found that the definition of 'gender' in the Rome Statute necessitates an interpretation that goes beyond a purely biological conception of sex. It considered that it requires acknowledging the socially constructed roles, behaviours, expectations, and hierarchies traditionally associated with individuals on the basis of their sex. The Chamber considered that these societal constructs, commonly referred to as 'gender norms', form part of the contextual lens through which acts amounting to gender-based persecution under article 7(1)(h) must be assessed. It found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the four suspects are criminally responsible for having ordered, induced or solicited the crime against humanity of persecution, under article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, on gender grounds against girls, women and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's policy on gender, gender identity or expression; and on political grounds against persons perceived as "allies of girls and women". These crimes are believed to have been committed on the territory of Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021, and have continued until at least 20 January 2025.
Pre-Trial Chamber II considered that the suspects acting on behalf of the Taliban have implemented a governmental policy that resulted in severe violations of fundamental rights and freedoms of the civilian population of Afghanistan, in connection with conducts of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearance. While the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms. Specifically, the Taliban severely deprived, through decrees and edicts, girls and women of the rights to education, privacy and family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion. In addition, other persons were targeted because certain expressions of sexuality and/or gender identity were regarded as inconsistent with the Taliban's policy on gender.
In assessing the evidence before it, the Chamber took into account the object and purpose of Article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute. This provision reflects the Statute's broader aim to protect civilian populations from serious and systemic violations of fundamental rights, particularly those targeting vulnerable groups. In this context, the Chamber considered that the protection of victims of such crimes - especially women and girls who are often disproportionately affected by gender-based persecution - is central to the provision's purpose. The Chamber found that gender persecution encompasses not only direct acts of violence, but also systemic and institutionalised forms of harm, including the imposition of discriminatory societal norms.
Furthermore, the Chamber found that individuals perceived as opposing these policies, even passively or through omission, were also targeted by the Taliban. This included those described as "allies of girls and women", who were viewed as political opponents.
Public redacted version of 'Decision unsealing four warrants of arrest', 5 October 2026
