ICC arrest warrant on Taliban underline courts hypocrisy

The decision to overlook evidence related to 20 years of US-led NATO occupation and instead focus solely on pursuing action against the Taliban reinforces the settled view outside of the Western world that the so-called justice system exists only to serve Western interests. The record of the ICC and related bodies is tarnished by disproportionate prosecutions of prominent figures from the Global South while sparing leaders of hegemonic powers responsible for occupation, genocide, and abuses of human rights. 

Issuing arrest warrants against Taliban leaders, whilst framed as concern for Afghan women, is a shallow attempt to continue the West's legacy of intervention in Muslim nations. This hypocrisy is further illustrated by the courts' aversion to investigate those who indiscriminately bombed, maimed, and murdered thousands of Afghan men, women, and children for two decades.

With Trump returning to power, and the prospect of fresh sanctions against the ICC on the horizon, the court is in a race against time to curry favour with the new administration following its reluctant decision in issuing arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant after sustained global pressure and the overwhelming weight of the evidence. 

Image from jbdodane on Flickr