ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban education ministers over gender persecution

The International Criminal Court unsealed arrest warrants against two senior Taliban officials: education minister Habibullah Agha and higher education minister Neda Mohammad Nadeem. They are accused of the crime against humanity of gender-based persecution.

The warrants stem from the Taliban administration's policies banning girls and women from secondary and university education since the group retook power in Afghanistan in 2021. Rights groups and the United Nations have repeatedly described this ban as among the most severe restrictions on women's rights anywhere in the world.

This action represents an expansion of the ICC's ongoing investigation into alleged crimes committed by Taliban leadership. The court had previously issued arrest warrants against other senior figures within the Taliban administration over the persecution of women and girls on gender grounds. The Taliban, which is not a party to the Rome Statute and does not recognise the court's jurisdiction, has consistently rejected such accusations and defended its education policies.

Since Afghanistan is not among the approximately 125 states that are parties to the ICC, the warrants are unlikely to result in the ministers' transfer to The Hague unless they travel to a cooperating state. Nevertheless, the action adds further international legal pressure on the Taliban government, which remains unrecognised by most of the world's governments.