New International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan moved Monday to re-launch an investigation into Afghanistan that will focus on the Taliban and the "Islamic State-Khorasan Province" while not prioritizing alleged US crimes.
Today, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) prosecutor said he is seeking approval to resume a war crimes investigation in Afghanistan focusing on the operations of the Taliban and ISIS-K.
And a statement said that the request was submitted to the judges of the court in light of developments since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in a lightning operation weeks ago.
Prosecutors had previously also looked into suspected crimes committed by US and Afghan government forces, but the court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan - who began a nine-year mission six months ago - said they now "won't make (this) a priority." Because of the lack of resources, they will instead focus on "the scale and nature of the crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court".
An insult to thousands of victims
Afghan human rights activist Houria Mosaddegh, who has been helping victims in support of the ICC investigation for many years, called the announcement "an insult to thousands of other victims of crimes by Afghan government forces, US forces and NATO."
The International Criminal Court continued to pursue allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan for 15 years before opening a full-fledged investigation into them last year.
The investigation was closed at the request of the Afghan government, which said it was investigating the crimes on its own.
The United States completed the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan at the end of last August, 20 years after its invasion (French)
The International Criminal Court - which is based in The Hague - is a court of last resort;
It only intervenes when a member state is unable or unwilling to bring war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide to trial.
important change
Khan said - in the statement - that the fall of the internationally recognized Afghan government and its replacement by the Taliban in ruling the country represents an "important change in the situation."
"After carefully reviewing matters, I have come to the conclusion that there is no longer a possibility at present to conduct genuine and effective domestic investigations...inside Afghanistan," Khan said.
It was not yet possible to contact the Taliban government in Kabul for comment.
"Initial indications are that their policies on matters of criminal justice and other material considerations are unlikely to align with those adopted since 2002," Khan said in his letter to the court.
The Afghanistan investigation has been one of the most controversial of the International Criminal Court.
The administration of former US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Fatou Bensouda, who held the position before Khan, against the background of the investigation related to Afghanistan and that related to the Palestinian territories, before President Joe Biden lifted those sanctions.