Overview

• Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court publicly confirmed sealed arrest warrants for two senior Taliban figures today
• The warrants charge Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani with crimes against humanity under Article 7(1)(h) for gender-based persecution
• Investigators allege the leaders deprived women and girls of education, privacy, movement and employment between August 2021 and January 2025
• Judges kept the warrants under seal to protect victims and witnesses but disclosed their existence in the interests of justice
• The ICC relies on member states to enforce its warrants, highlighting challenges in apprehending suspects in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan