UK Representative: We Support Referring the Taliban’s Case to International Courts

The United Kingdom’s representative to the United Nations said at the UN Security Council meeting on Monday, June 23, that his country supports referring the Taliban’s human rights violations to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and other international judicial bodies.

James Kariuki, the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, called the denial of fundamental rights to women and girls in Afghanistan “unacceptable,” emphasizing that the Taliban’s actions are in clear violation of international conventions, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

He pointed out that eight out of every ten young women in Afghanistan are deprived of access to education and employment opportunities, and stressed that the Taliban must be held accountable for these systematic human rights violations.

Kariuki noted that the UK fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue legal accountability for the Taliban, including referring the case to the International Court of Justice due to gross human rights abuses.

Other members of the UN Security Council also condemned the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan and emphasized the need for their full, meaningful, and equal participation in the country.