On 28 November 2024, my Office received a referral on the Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Situation in Afghanistan), from the following six State Parties: Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Luxembourg, and Mexico. In the referral, the States Parties express their concern about the severe deterioration of the human rights situation in Afghanistan, especially for women and girls and request my Office to consider the crimes committed against women and girls after the Taliban takeover in 2021 within its ongoing investigation in the Situation in Afghanistan.
In accordance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, a State Party may refer to the Prosecutor a situation in which one or more crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court appear to have been committed, requesting the Prosecutor to investigate the situation for the purpose of determining whether one or more specific persons should be charged with the commission of such crimes.
In receiving the referral, my Office confirms that it has been and continues to conduct an active investigation in the Situation in Afghanistan which already encompasses the alleged crimes described in this referral.
On 20 November 2017, the Office requested judicial authorisation to initiate an investigation into alleged crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan since 1 May 2003, as well as other alleged crimes that have a nexus to the armed conflict in Afghanistan and are sufficiently linked to the situation in Afghanistan and were committed on the territory of other States Parties to the Rome Statute since 1 July 2002. On 5 March 2020, the Appeals Chamber of the Court decided unanimously to authorise my Office to commence the investigation.
On 31 October 2022, Pre-Trial Chamber II authorised my Office to resume the Afghanistan investigation, following a period of deferral resulting from an admissibility challenge by the former government of Afghanistan. Since this date, my Office has been conducting an independent, impartial and robust investigation in the Situation in Afghanistan, which encompasses allegations of systematic discrimination and persecution of women and girls.
This reflects my Office's broader commitment to pursuing accountability for gender-based crimes, including the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds.
I welcome the referring State Parties' determination to draw attention to these crimes and the Office's investigation. While I must emphasise the importance of confidentiality concerning the details of my Office's investigations, I can report that very considerable progress has already been made in the investigation of allegations of gender persecution in the Situation in Afghanistan, and I am confident that I will soon be in a position to announce concrete results.
I applaud the courage and determination of all who have supported us, and continue to cooperate with us in the conduct of this investigation. My Office will continue its engagement with all relevant actors to advance this investigation, and is continuing to closely follow relevant developments in Afghanistan. Any interested person or entity who wishes to submit information to my Office on these or other alleged crimes committed under the ICC's jurisdiction may use OTPLink, a secure platform to receive such submissions.
In the light of the upcoming Assembly of States Parties next week, I reiterate the call in the referral encouraging all States and, in particular, States Parties to the Rome Statute to provide the cooperation and resources necessary for the investigation to ensure accountability for the crimes committed in Afghanistan.
