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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to address the issue of women's rights in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule which has imposed a brutal crackdown on women and girls, the Human Rights Watch highlighted in a report.
The Human Rights Watch in their report, also emphasised that the Afghan women and girls deserve their day in court against the Taliban, stressing that "the ICJ could play an important role." The support of just one state party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) could make that happen, the report added. It further reiterated that since the Taliban took control in August 2021, it has imposed a brutal crackdown on women and girls, violating rights in every aspect of their lives, including their ability to study, work, live free from violence, access health care, participate in public life, move freely, or even just walk in the park. "These abuses continue to escalate and are blatant violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which Afghanistan ratified in 2003," it said. Recently, the ICJ in The Hague, the United Nations' highest judicial body heard South Africa's case alleging that Israel is violating the 1948 Genocide Convention in Gaza. Shifting the pointer to the human rights atrocities in Afghanistan, the Human Rights Watch group said that the Afghan women in Afghanistan as well as in the diaspora, are looking for it with great interest. "International attention has focused in recent weeks on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, as the United Nations' highest judicial body heard South Africa's case alleging that Israel is violating the 1948 Genocide Convention in Gaza. While a decision on the merits will likely take years, on January 26 the court issued provisional measures that include requiring Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza," the report said. "The case is one of several human rights-based claims before the ICJ. One group looking on with great interest is Afghan women, both inside the country and in the diaspora," the Human Rights Watch added in their report. Notably, many governments across the world have denounced the Taliban's full-scale attack on the rights of Afghan women and girls. "While the International Criminal Court is investigating Taliban atrocity crimes, the ICJ offers governments that have expressed their solidarity with Afghan women another practical way to put Taliban abuses under judicial scrutiny - one which, as illustrated in other recent cases, can produce measures that could have a positive impact," it stated. Since the ICJ looks after international law, some of its recent cases have concerned human rights. The report further highlighted that in November 2019, Gambia brought a case under the Genocide Convention against Myanmar regarding alleged genocide against ethnic Rohingya. Moreover, "In June 2023, the Netherlands and Canada filed a case against Syria alleging it is violating the UN Convention Against Torture," the report said. Notably, the CEDAW allowed states that are parties to the treaty to bring to the ICJ disputes with other states parties "concerning the interpretation or the application" of the convention not settled by negotiation or arbitration. (ANI)
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