In a First, ICC Recognizes LGBTIQ Victims in Afghanistan Gender Persecution Case

New York, New York - January 23, 2025 - Outright International and Afghanistan LGBTIQ+ Organisation (ALO) welcomes the International Criminal Court's (ICC) recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) victims of gender persecution under international criminal law.

Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan KC made a historic announcement that the Office of the Prosecutor has requested that the court issue arrest warrants for Taliban officials who are alleged to have committed gender persecution against women and "persons whom the Taliban perceived as not conforming with their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression" in Afghanistan. This is the first time LGBTIQ persons have been named as victims of gender persecution in a case the court will undertake. The Taliban's brutal repression of LGBTIQ people and women since its takeover of the country in August 2021 is unconscionable, and the ICC's recognition of persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a crucial step toward addressing these atrocities.

The Taliban's rule has led to a significant increase in violence and persecution against LGBTIQ people and women in Afghanistan. Reports from organizations including Outright International, Human Rights Watch, and the Afghanistan LGBTIQ+ Organisation have documented cases of targeted abuse, including sexual assault, arrests, and death threats against LGBTIQ people due to their perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, or sex characteristics. The situation has worsened, with Taliban officials actively hunting down and subjecting LGBTIQ people to violence, humiliation, and even death. The risk of violence has complicated the ability of LGBTIQ people to seek humanitarian assistance, and the lack of international support, including from the United Nations, has left them in dangerous limbo.

The ICC's acknowledgment of gender persecution as a form of violence against women and those who identify or are perceived as LGBTIQ is a significant step forward in addressing the unique vulnerabilities of LGBTIQ people in conflict and crises. As the court's policy paper on gender persecution emphasizes, gender is socially constructed, and perpetrators use violence against vulnerable people as punishment for transgressing gender norms. These forms of gendered violence can constitute crimes against humanity.

"The Taliban's reign of terror over women and LGBTIQ people has been based on the assumption that gender persecution can persist with impunity. The ICC's recognition of LGBTIQ victims challenges that presumption by recognizing the humanity of our communities" said Neela Ghoshal, Senior Director of Law, Policy, and Research at Outright International. "Once arrest warrants are issued against Taliban officials, member states should support the court's efforts to swiftly bring them to justice."