Care and support systems are failing women and girls by UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women   Aug. 2025   The Center for Economic and Social Rights welcomes the Inter-American Court on Human Rights’ historic recognition of care as a human right. This is a long-overdue step toward justice for women, caregivers, and communities across America.   This breakthrough builds on decades of feminist organizing, including the Care Manifesto, and echoes the vision we share with allies like Public Services International. Care is the invisible foundation of our societies and economies. Yet too often it is ignored, unpaid, and placed on the backs of women and girls.   Recognizing care as a right changes the terms of the conversation. It affirms that care is not a personal responsibility or private burden, but a public good and a state obligation. And it opens the door to systemic change, starting with how governments fund, design, and deliver public services.   From recognition to redistribution   The right to care means that everyone, regardless of income, gender, disability, or migratory status, must have access to quality, affordable, and dignified care. It also means that those providing care, whether paid or unpaid, must be supported, protected, and fairly compensated.   To meet this obligation, states must invest in universal, gender-responsive public services that meet the needs of both caregivers and those receiving care. That includes:   Public funding for health, education, childcare, eldercare, disability support, water, sanitation, and energy. Infrastructure designed with equity in mind: accessible, safe, affordable, and culturally appropriate. Fair pay and decent working conditions for care workers, with the right to organize and bargain collectively. Gender-responsive budgeting, backed by disaggregated data and clear accountability mechanisms.   The care crisis does not stop at national borders. Migrant care workers, mostly women from the Global South, fill critical labor gaps in richer countries, often in exploitative conditions. A rights-based response demands international cooperation to uphold their labor rights and ensure fair, safe, and dignified work.   We already have the legal and policy foundations: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW, and the ILO’s 2024 resolution on decent work and care. Recent commitments, such as the March 2025 Joint Statement endorsed by over 70 countries, have created political space for stronger cooperation. But commitments only matter if they come with resources. That means urgent reforms to the global financial system:   Fix tax rules to stop illicit financial flows and corporate profit-shifting that strip resources from public budgets.Cancel or restructure unsustainable debts so governments can invest in care, not austerity. Mobilize climate finance to build resilience in communities, especially women on the frontlines of crisis.   Recognition is not enough. Realizing the right to care will take bold action, sustained pressure, and a shift in political priorities. Governments must move from rhetoric to redistribution, from token programs to universal, well-funded systems that treat care as a shared responsibility and a pillar of justice.   As CESR’s Executive Director, Dr. María Ron Balsera, puts it: “The right to care is not merely aspirational. It is achievable if we prioritize gender justice, fiscal justice, transparency, and redistribution.” We will keep pushing until care is no longer invisible or undervalued, but recognized, resourced, and shared.   http://www.cesr.org/care-as-a-human-right-a-new-mandate-to-build-gender-responsive-public-services/ http://www.cesr.org/key-voices-veronica-montufar-unionism-feminism-and-rebuilding-the-social-organization-of-care/ http://www.cesr.org/progressive-taxation-for-a-gender-transformative-social-organization-of-care/ http://publicservices.international/resources/campaigns/care-manifesto-rebuilding-the-social-organization-of-care?id=11655&lang=en http://gi-escr.org/en/our-work/on-the-ground/historic-ruling-inter-american-court-recognises-the-human-right-to-care-2   http://gi-escr.org/en/our-work/on-the-ground/we-called-the-un-cescr-to-recognise-the-human-right-to-care-and-support-in-reviews-of-chile-and-colombia http://gi-escr.org/en/our-work/on-the-ground/boosting-regional-dialogue-on-the-implications-of-recognising-care-as-a-social-right-during-the-xvi-regional-conference-on-women-of-latin-america-and-the-caribbean http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/08/americas-conferencia-regional-sobre-la-mujer-debe-ser-un-cortafuegos-frente-a-los-ataques-contra-la-igualdad-de-genero/   August 14, 2025   Inter-American Court Recognizes the Right to Care as an Autonomous Human Right, by Emily Carrazana and Ivonne Garza. (O'Neil Institute Georgetown Law)   In a groundbreaking Advisory Opinion, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has recognized the human right to care — long an overlooked pillar of human well-being — as an autonomous and enforceable right, placing it on equal footing with the rights to receive and to provide care.   The Court emphasized that this human right has its own legal standing, as it safeguards the essential material and social conditions, including adequate time, sufficient resources, supportive relationships, and accessible services — conditions that enable the full enjoyment of a dignified life.   When those conditions are omitted or neglected, the ability to exercise many other interdependent rights is undermined. Entrenched in the right to care, this autonomy is expressed in three dimensions: the right to be cared for, the right to care for others, and the right to self-care.   The Three Dimensions of the Right to Care   1. The Right to Be Cared For   Every person is entitled to receive care that is available, accessible, culturally appropriate and acceptable, and of high quality — regardless of income, age, health status, or location. This right protects persons who depend on others for their survival and well-being, including children, older adults, and people with disabilities.   2. The Right to Care for Others   All persons have the right to provide care — whether for family members, community members, or in a professional capacity — under conditions that respect their dignity, ensure fair labor protections for paid caregivers, and prevent economic or social disadvantage for unpaid caregivers.   3. The Right to Self-Care   Persons have the right to take care of their own physical, mental, and emotional well-being. This requires States to create environments and policies that make self-care possible, which includes access to preventive health services like reproductive health care, safe working conditions, adequate rest, and freedom from practices that undermine personal autonomy.   Why Self-Care Matters   The Court’s Advisory Opinion frames self-care as a legal entitlement — recognizing that the ability to care for oneself is foundational to living with dignity and exercising other rights. Without the means and freedom to practice self-care, individuals can be trapped in cycles of ill health, dependency, and economic vulnerability.   By placing self-care at the core of the right to care, the Court acknowledges that autonomy over one’s own health is not a privilege, but a right that States must actively enable and protect.   In articulating self-care as a human right, the Court situates it within a normative framework grounded in three governing principles. First, social and family co-responsibility locates care within a network of actors — individuals, families, communities, civil society, businesses, and the State — each bearing an obligation to sustain it.   Second, the principle of solidarity affirms the necessity of mutual support among all members and institutions of society.   Third, equality and non-discrimination impose a mandate to ensure that the provision and receipt of care do not reproduce structural inequalities, particularly those entrenched along gender lines.   State Obligations: Recognize, Reduce, Redistribute   To fulfill the right to care in all its dimensions, the Court outlined parameters that States should take into consideration when designing and adopting legal frameworks and public policies:   Recognize the economic and social value of care, both paid and unpaid. Reduce the burdens and barriers that make caregiving — or self-care — inaccessible, unsafe, or inequitable. Redistribute care responsibilities more fairly between men and women and across the State, market, community, and families.   While the form of care systems will depend on national contexts and resources, the Court recognizes that a model that includes the aforementioned parameters can better contribute to effectively implementing the right to care.   Link to the Right to Health   Although autonomous, the right to care is closely linked to the right to health. Fulfilling it requires:   Accurate and timely information to make health decisions, including reproductive and maternal health. Free, prior, and informed consent before any medical decision. Quality standards that are culturally acceptable, scientifically sound, and delivered with dignity.   In Latin America and the Caribbean, persistent barriers — such as the scarcity of medical goods and services, high costs, discrimination, and widespread misinformation — continue to undermine the practical realization of both care and health rights.   A Call for Action   The Court’s recognition of the human right to care, and especially the right to self-care, calls for a rethinking of public policy. Governments must invest in care systems, expand parental leave, enforce labor protections, and ensure that people have the time, resources, and autonomy to look after themselves.   By embedding the right to care into national law and policy, States can move toward more equal, healthy, and sustainable societies — where caring for oneself and others is not left to individual circumstances but, rather, is supported as a shared social responsibility.   http://oneill.law.georgetown.edu/inter-american-court-recognizes-the-right-to-care-as-an-autonomous-human-right/   July 2025   Care and support systems are failing women and girls   A new report by the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls warns that global care and support systems are failing women and girls, exacerbating human rights violations and deepening gender inequalities.   Released ahead of the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the report presents a bold call for urgent public investment and structural reform to recognise, redistribute, and properly reward care and support work.   “Despite care and support work being essential for the health, wellbeing, and sustainability of societies, it remains largely invisible, undervalued, and unprotected,” the Working Group said.   “Women and girls shoulder 76% of unpaid care responsibilities globally, amounting to 12.5 billion hours of unpaid work each day, worth an estimated $10.8 trillion annually if monetised,” the experts said.   The Working Group called for counting the unpaid care into the GDP of states.   “Care and support systems are failing women and girls under demographic pressures, economic inequality, and persistent gender norms,” the Working Group said. “Without immediate and transformative action, millions of women and girls will continue to sacrifice their rights, health, education, and economic opportunities to fill this systemic gap.”   The report highlights how fragmented and insufficient care and support policies amount to systemic gender discrimination, affecting rights to education, health, employment, political participation, and other human rights of women and girls.   From rural women and girls denied healthcare and schooling, to migrant domestic workers facing exploitation and violence, the care crisis is both global and intersectional.   “Particularly alarming is the impact of conflict and climate change,” the experts said. “In armed conflict zones such as Gaza and Sudan, the deliberate destruction of care infrastructure, coupled with the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, dramatically increases care and support needs and responsibilities of women and girls.”   They noted that climate-induced scarcity of resources also forces women to work longer hours under harsher conditions, further undermining their wellbeing.   The report calls for the creation of gender-responsive, human rights-based care and support systems anchored in the principles of equity, dignity, and sustainability. It urges governments to increase investments in public services, eliminate harmful gender norms, and implement policies to promote shared caregiving responsibilities by engaging men and boys.   The report also calls upon the international community, including financial institutions and corporations to prioritise gender-responsive resource redistribution and recognise care and support related skills in recruitment and employment policies. The Working Group has developed a “CREATE” framework to offer a concrete roadmap for this transformation.   “Care and support are not charity—they are the foundation of human rights, economic development, and ecological sustainability,” the experts said. “States must act now to protect both those who provide and those who receive care and support, and to build a future where care and support are shared, supported, and valued.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/un-working-group-calls-urgent-overhaul-global-care-and-support-systems http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5945-gendered-dimensions-care-and-support-systems-report-working   July 2025   Care enters the global financing agenda. (Global Alliance for Care)   The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) served as the stage for the launch of the initiative under the Seville Action Platform: “Investing in Care for Equality and Prosperity: A Global Initiative to Promote Gender-Responsive Development Financing.”   Led by the governments of Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, together with UN Women, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the Global Alliance for Care (GAC), this initiative is aimed at transforming the international financial architecture so that care is no longer invisible and is recognized as essential infrastructure for sustainable development.   The process began on July 1 with the event “Financing Care Systems for Gender Equality and Economic Prosperity: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach”, the event brought together government officials, multilateral organizations, and civil society in a united call to place care at the heart of public policies and investment systems.   Enrique Ochoa Martínez, representative of the Government of Mexico, stated: “Our commitment to the care economy is rooted in our history, public policy, and vision for the future. This initiative affirms that care is not a cost — it is a strategic investment for inclusive development and social justice.”   From Brazil, Luana Pinheiro of the Ministry of Social Development highlighted the transformative power of the Care agenda: “Investing in care is not just social policy. It is economic, labor, environmental, and infrastructure policy with immense multiplying potential. This initiative promotes a shared responsibility among the state, civil society, and communities.”   Arlene Tickner, Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs, said: “Colombia advocates for a feminist foreign policy that puts care at the center. This initiative is a transformative platform linking gender, development, peace, and sustainability from an inclusive approach.”   Jemimah Njuki, Director of Programs at UN Women, said: “We celebrate this milestone where gender equality and investment in care are integrated, now we need to move forward with actions.”   During the launch, other representatives also stressed the urgency of advancing toward a care-centered economy.   María Guijarro, Spain’s Secretary of State for Equality, declared: “Investing in care means investing in a fairer, more equitable, and more sustainable society. True shared responsibility requires a collective commitment to building a society of care.”   Ana Guezmes from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean warned of the region’s triple crisis — care, climate, and development — and called for sustained investment “to care for both life and the planet.”   Alejandra Haas of Oxfam was clear: “Care must not remain a commodity. It is a right that must be guaranteed through public services and fair financing.”   Camila Barretto Maia a human rights expert, reminded the audience: “The current distribution of care is deeply unequal and unsustainable. It demands structural reform based on a global feminist perspective.”   The Seville Commitment, the final document adopted by all Member States present, includes in Article 11 a call to increase investment in the care economy, recognize its value, and fairly redistribute the burden of unpaid care work, which disproportionately falls on women.   Through the Seville Action Platform, signatory countries commit to a transformation, where care work is no longer invisible and takes its rightful place: at the center of economies, policies, and lives.   http://www.globalallianceforcare.org/en/news/news-press.html http://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2023/09/global-alliance-for-care-leads-changes-in-the-care-economy   Not all gaps are created equal: the true value of care work. (Oxfam International)   Women and girls work incredibly hard to care for others. Not only is this work unpaid, but it's often not seen as real work at all. If we valued care work the same as other work, it would be worth nearly $11 trillion US dollars a year. But its true value is much greater.   When we think of the gender gap our minds tend to leap to wage packets and glass ceilings. But for women and girls the gender gap may be better illustrated by the long and often dangerous daily walks to fetch water, the countless hours they spend caring for others, cooking and cleaning. All these invisible tasks traditionally belong to them but are neither counted nor valued.   Care work is the ‘hidden engine’ that keeps the wheels of our economies, businesses and societies turning. And it is driven by women and girls who, with little or no time to get an education, earn a decent living, be involved in their communities or have a say in how our societies are run, are trapped at the bottom of the economy.   Care work is central to human and social wellbeing. It includes looking after children, the elderly, and those with physical and mental illnesses and disabilities, as well as daily domestic work like cooking, cleaning, washing, mending, and fetching water and firewood.   Without someone investing time, effort and resources in these essential daily tasks, communities, workplaces, and whole economies would grind to a halt.   Across the world care work is disproportionately falling on women and girls, especially women and girls living in poverty and from marginalized groups.   While much of this work is done for free at home or in the community, women and girls working as cleaners, or in care services like healthcare or childcare often do so for poverty wages.   Women and girls undertake more than three-quarters of unpaid care work in the world and make up two-thirds of the paid care workforce. They carry out 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work every day.   When valued at minimum wage this would represent a contribution to the global economy of at least $10.8 trillion a year, more than three times the size of the global tech industry.   In low-income countries, women in rural areas spend up to 14 hours a day doing unpaid care work. Across the globe, 42 percent of women cannot get jobs because they are responsible for all the caregiving, compared to just six percent of men.   80 percent of the world’s 67 million domestic workers are women — 90 percent don’t have access to social security, and more than half have no limits on their weekly working hours.   Even though it lays the foundation for a thriving society, unpaid and underpaid care work is fundamentally invisible. It is radically undervalued and taken as a given by governments and businesses. It is often treated as ‘non-work’, with spending on it treated as a cost rather than an investment.   It undermines the health and well-being of women and girls and limits their economic prosperity by fueling gender gaps in employment and wages. It also leaves them time-poor, unable to meet their basic needs or to participate in social and political activities.   Unpaid and underpaid care work perpetuates gender and economic inequalities. It is fueling a sexist economic system that has accumulated vast wealth and power into the hands of a rich few, in part by exploiting the labour of women and girls, and systematically violating their rights.   Women everywhere, in particular the poorest women, contribute massively to the economy and society through the essential care work they provide. Yet, our broken economic system values the wealth of the privileged few, mostly men, more than the billions of hours women and girls are putting in every day for free, and countless more for poverty wages.   Governments must prioritize care as being as important as all other sectors in order to build more human economies that work for everyone, not just a fortunate few.   They must ensure corporations and the richest are fairly taxed and invest this money in public services and infrastructure, which would help free up women’s time, empowering them to engage in activities outside of the home and lift themselves out of poverty.   http://www.oxfam.org/en/not-all-gaps-are-created-equal-true-value-care-work http://policy-practice.oxfam.org/gender-justice-womens-rights/
	Afghanistan has become the world’s most severe women’s rights crisis by United Nations News, agencies   Aug. 2025   Four years after Taliban fighters retook the capital Kabul in Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, gender equality agency UN Women is warning that the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan is increasingly untenable. And without urgent action, this reality will become normalised and women and girls will be fully excluded.   “The Taliban is closer than ever to achieving its vision of a society that completely erases women from public life,” UN women said in a press release on Monday.   UN Women’s warning came just as the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released its latest report on the human rights situation between May and June, detailing harshening enforcement of regulations against women and death threats against female humanitarians.   The edicts which the Taliban have passed restricting women and girls’ rights interact together to create an inescapable cycle which relegates women to private spaces and increases their vulnerability. In most cases, including for humanitarian workers, women are not allowed to move freely in public without being accompanied by a mahram, or a male guardian.   In its report, UNAMA noted a change in the enforcement of mahram requirements, with the de facto Taliban authorities instructing private businesses and health clinics to refuse services to all women who were not accompanied by a mahram.   In certain regions, the authorities have also begun to strictly enforce hijab regulations, including by requiring women to wear a chador, a full body covering. In Herat, if they were not doing so, women are being banned from public spaces. In addition to impeding women's movements in public spaces, the Taliban has also banned women and girls from secondary and higher education.   Taken together, these two edicts have profound ramifications at all levels of society. Now, not only is it functionally impossible for women to receive educational degrees, it is also unduly difficult for them to get jobs and enter into training programmes. As a result, over 78 per cent of Afghan women are not in education, employment or training.   This means that almost half of the work force is not contributing to the economy in measurable ways, a huge problem for a country whose economy has been devastated by sanctions and climate shocks.   UNAMA’s report noted that the de facto authorities continue to affirm that Islam permits women to work – even as other edicts seem to discourage it.   But it’s not just the economy which is suffering. In some cases, these edicts can literally be a matter of life or death.   “The results are devastating. Women are living shorter, less healthy lives,” the UN agency said.   Take healthcare for instance. If women are not allowed to enter higher education, they cannot become doctors. And if women are banned from receiving treatment from male doctors – which they are in certain regions – they cannot expect to live healthy lives.   UN Women estimates that impediments to receiving healthcare for women in Afghanistan will increase maternal mortality by 50 per cent by 2026.   Child marriage is also becoming more common, and women are increasingly subjected to violence, inside and outside of their homes. In some cases, de facto authorities were the ones involved in or enforcing forced marriages.   It is not just in public that women’s voices are being excluded – 62 per cent of women feel that they cannot even influence decisions at home. This comes amidst a curtailing of expression rights more generally, with many private media outlets closing and social media accounts being monitored, according to the UNAMA report.   UN Women emphasises that despite having little to hope for, Afghan women remain resilient. They continue to look for moments of solidarity and hope for a different future.   In May, some women working for the UN were subjected to explicit death threats in relation to their work, but they continue to deliver lifesaving and life-building services.   One woman whose grassroots leadership organization lost all of its funding in 2022 continues to work to support women in smaller ways. “I will continue to stand strong as a woman, supporting other Afghan women. I go to remote areas and collect women’s stories, listen to their problems and this gives them hope. I try my best and that also gives me hope,” she said.   In total, since 2021, almost 100 edicts which restrict how women and girls move through society have been instituted and enforced. In four years, not a single one has been overturned.   UN Women’s representative in Afghanistan, said that this lack of progress must be understood beyond the Afghan context.   “This is not only about the rights – and futures – of Afghan women and girls. It’s about what we stand for as a global community. If we allow Afghan women and girls to be silenced, we send a message that the rights of women and girls everywhere are disposable. And that’s an immensely dangerous precedent.”   http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165622 http://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/in-focus/afghanistan http://unama.unmissions.org/un-afghanistan-calls-lifting-restrictions-female-staff-accessing-un-premises http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/1165823   Mar. 2025   As new school year starts in Afghanistan, almost 400,000 more girls deprived of their right to education, bringing total to 2.2 million.   Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the third anniversary of the ban on secondary education for girls in Afghanistan:   “As a new school year begins in Afghanistan, it marks three years since the start of the ban on girls' secondary education. This decision continues to harm the future of millions of Afghan girls. If this ban persists until 2030, over four million girls will have been deprived of their right to education beyond primary school.   “The consequences for these girls - and for Afghanistan - are catastrophic. The ban negatively impacts the health system, the economy, and the future of the nation. With fewer girls receiving an education, girls face a higher risk of child marriage with negative repercussions on their well-being and health.   “In addition, the country will experience a shortage of qualified female health workers. This will endanger lives. "With fewer female doctors and midwives, girls and women will not receive the medical treatment and support they need. We are estimating an additional 1,600 maternal deaths and over 3,500 infant deaths. These are not just numbers, they represent lives lost and families shattered.   “For over three years, the rights of girls in Afghanistan have been violated. All girls must be allowed to return to school now. If these capable, bright young girls continue to be denied an education, then the repercussions will last for generations. Afghanistan cannot leave half of its population behind.   “At UNICEF, we remain unwavering in our commitment to Afghan children – girls and boys. Despite the ban, we have provided access to education for 445,000 children through community-based learning—64 per cent of whom are girls. We are also empowering female teachers to ensure that girls have positive role models.   “We will continue to advocate for the right of every Afghan girl to receive an education, and we urge the de facto authorities to lift this ban immediately. Education is not just a fundamental right; it is the pathway to a healthier, more stable, and prosperous society.”   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/new-school-year-starts-afghanistan-almost-400000-more-girls-deprived-their-right http://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2025/06/nearly-eight-out-of-10-young-afghan-women-are-excluded-from-education-jobs-and-training http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164476 http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165331   Dec. 2024   Afghanistan: Ban on women medical training must be repealed. (OHCHR)   The ban against women in Afghanistan attending classes at private medical institutions is yet another direct blow by the de facto authorities against Afghan women and girls. It is the latest in a long string of State-sponsored discriminatory measures targeting women and girls in the fields of education, work and others – hijacking the future of the country.   The measure is profoundly discriminatory, short-sighted and puts the lives of women and girls at risk in multiple ways. It removes the only remaining path for women and girls towards higher education and will decimate the already inadequate supply of female midwives, nurses and doctors.   This decision will limit women and girls’ already precarious access to healthcare, as male medical staff are prohibited from treating women unless a male relative is present. Afghanistan already has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world. Women’s presence in the health sector is crucial.   All these measures, taken by men with absolute lack of transparency and without any involvement of those concerned, are clearly aimed at excluding women and girls from public life.   Afghanistan’s de facto authorities hold the effective power and responsibility for the welfare, security, and safety of the entire population.   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urges the de facto authorities to repeal this harmful directive. It is high time women and girls’ human rights are ensured, in line with Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations.   Samira Hamidi, an Afghan activist and campaigner for Amnesty International, said: “This is an outrageous act of ignorance by the Taliban, who continue to lead a war against women and girls in Afghanistan. This draconian action will have a devastating long-term impact on the lives of millions of Afghans, especially women and girls.   “In a country like Afghanistan, where people are bound to traditional and cultural practices, women in most parts of the country are not allowed to be checked or treated by a male doctor.   “With this ban, it will mean there will be no more midwives, nurses, female lab and medical personnel to serve female patients,” she said.   Heather Barr, at Human Rights Watch, said: “If you ban women from being treated by male healthcare professionals, and then you ban women from training to become healthcare professionals, the consequences are clear: women will not have access to healthcare and will die as a result.”   * Afghanistan already suffers from one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world and there are deep concerns that that the ban would further erode women’s precarious access to healthcare.   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/statement-unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-reported-restrictions-Afghanistan http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/12/afghanistan-ban-women-medical-training-must-be-repealed http://www.msf.org/excluding-women-medical-institutes-threatens-future-healthcare-afghanistan http://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/03/afghanistans-taliban-ban-medical-training-women   * UN WebTV: Interactive Dialogue with Afghan Women from inside Afghanistan and in Exile (Mar. 25): http://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1k/k1kelped6e   * Today, 8 July 2025, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) has issued, in the context of the Situation of Afghanistan, warrants of arrest for Mr Haibatullah Akhundzada, Supreme Leader of the Taliban, and Mr Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Chief Justice of the Taliban, who have exercised de facto authority in Afghanistan at least from 15 August 2021.   The Chamber has found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Haibatullah Akhundzada and Mr Abdul Hakim Haqqani have committed by ordering, inducing or soliciting the crime against humanity of persecution, under article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, on gender grounds against girls, women and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or expression; and on political grounds against persons perceived as “allies of girls and women”. These crimes are believed to have been committed on the territory of Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021, and have continued until at least 20 January 2025.   Pre-Trial Chamber II considered that the Taliban have implemented a governmental policy that resulted in severe violations of fundamental rights and freedoms of the civilian population of Afghanistan, in connection with conducts of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearance. While the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms. Specifically, the Taliban severely deprived, through decrees and edicts, girls and women of the rights to education, privacy and family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion.   In assessing the evidence before it, the Chamber has taken into account the object and purpose of Article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute. This provision reflects the Statute’s broader aim to protect civilian populations from serious and systemic violations of fundamental rights, particularly those targeting vulnerable groups. In this context, the Chamber considered that the protection of victims of such crimes – especially women and girls who are often disproportionately affected by gender-based persecution – is central to the provision’s purpose. The Chamber found that gender persecution encompasses not only direct acts of violence, but also systemic and institutionalised forms of harm, including the imposition of discriminatory societal norms.   http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-afghanistan-icc-pre-trial-chamber-ii-issues-arrest-warrants-haibatullah-akhundzada http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/taliban-weaponising-justice-sector-entrench-gender-persecution-afghanistan http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5625-phenomenon-institutionalized-system-discrimination-segregation http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/gender-apartheid-must-be-recognised-crime-against-humanity-un-experts-say Visit the related web page
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