What changed

B100246/2026

B100255/2026

European Parliament resolution on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan following the Taliban'sTaliban’s adoption of the Criminal Procedure Code for Courts

(2026/2737(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Rule 150(5) of its Rulesprevious ofresolutions Procedure,on Afghanistan,

whereas the adoption by the Afghan de facto authorities, of the Criminal Procedure Code for Courts, represents a dangerous escalation in the institutionalisation of repression and discrimination;

– having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas the Code institutionalizes torture and other ill-treatment, allows the death penalty for a wide range of offences, entrenches discrimination based on gender, religion, belief, ethnicity and social status, and undermines freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief;

whereas since the Taliban's illegal seizure of power in 2021, Afghan women and girls have been subjected to systematic persecution through more than 150 edicts depriving them of education beyond sixth grade, employment, justice, freedom of movement, healthcare and public life;

whereas the Code further restricts the movement, autonomy, education and participation in public life of women and girls, while normalising gender-based violence ;

whereas on 4 January 2026 the Taliban adopted the so-called Criminal Procedure Code for Courts imposed without democratic process;

whereas since 2021 the Taliban have systematically undermined women’s rights including by barring women from work, education, and public life, normalizing gender-based violence and dismantling the support system for victims of violence;

whereas the Code legalises domestic violence, criminalises women seeking protection with relatives from abuse, institutionalises corporal punishment amounting to torture under international law, recognises slavery, prescribes the death penalty for a broad range of offences without fair trial guarantees, and entrenches discrimination based on gender, religion and social status, in violation of Afghanistan's obligations under the ICCPR, the CAT and the Slavery Convention to which it is a State Party;

whereas such provisions reinforce a system of gender apartheid;

whereas the Code formally grants husbands discretionary authority to punish wives for disobedience; whereas women who leave Islam face indefinite imprisonment and repeated corporal punishment; whereas the Code contains no right to legal representation, no right to silence and no safeguards against forced confession;

whereas the Code also criminalises same-sex relations exposing LGBTQI+ persons to arbitrary detention, torture and execution; whereas people returning to Afghanistan remain at heightened risk of arbitrary detention, torture and violence under this legal framework permitting punishment based on confession, testimony or ideological suspicion;

whereas the Taliban have sharply increased public floggings and corporal punishments, including against at least 170 women in 2025;

whereas Afghanistan is currently gripped by three converging crises: escalating hostilities along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border triggering displacement, ripple effects of the Middle East crisis, and an unprecedented hunger and malnutrition emergency;

whereas the Taliban regime amounts to institutionalised gender persecution and gender apartheid; whereas only the Russian Federation has recognised the Taliban; whereas on 8 July 2025 the ICC issued arrest warrants against Akhundzada and Haqqani for the crime against humanity of gender persecution;

Condemns the Taliban´s system of gender apartheid, and urges the repeal of all discriminatory measures which institutionalise the exclusion of women and girls from public, economic and civic life;

Strongly condemns the Taliban's so-called Criminal Procedure Code for Courts; calls on the Taliban regime to immediately revoke it and stop its implementation;

Highlights that Taliban control continues to represent an extremely dangerous environment for broad parts of the population; urges the immediately end of widespread and systematic human rights violations against the Afghan people, and of all discriminatory practices based on religion, gender, social status, race and ethnicity;

Declares that the cumulative effect of Taliban edicts constitutes slavery and gender apartheid; Calls for an immediate end to public floggings, corporal punishment and executions;

Denounces the insufficient international response to the Taliban’s system of gender apartheid and rejects any normalisation of diplomatic relations with the regime;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to adopt this characterisation in all diplomatic engagement and to support its codification as a crime against humanity in the proposed Crimes Against Humanity Treaty;

Strongly condemns the announced EU talks with Taliban representatives on the return of Afghan citizens; demands to immediately halt all deportations and any negotiations on returns, as Afghanistan cannot be considered a safe country; urges EU Member States to establish safe and legal pathways, including through increased resettlement quotas, humanitarian visas and easier family reunification procedures, particularly for women and girls;

Calls on the EU and Member States to maintain non-recognition and non-normalisation of the Taliban, making any engagement strictly conditional on verifiable progress on women's and girls' rights; reiterates full support for the ICC arrest warrants and urges Member States to cooperate in their enforcement;

Calls to ensure that no policy decisions contribute to legitimizing a regime that systematically violates the rights of women, girls and ethnic minorities;

Calls on the Council to extend the EU Magnitsky Act to Taliban leaders responsible for the persecution of women and girls, including travel bans and asset freezes;

Calls on the EU and its member states to recognize the crime of gender apartheid under international law, including in the crimes against humanity convention being currently negotiated;

Calls on the Commission and the VP/HR to expedite the CEDAW proceedings initiated in September 2024 and to report transparently to Parliament on their progress;

Urges to increasethe supportEU and humanitarianMember aidStates forto Afghanincrease organisationssupport defendingfor womenAfghan andwomen girls´human rights and combating famine in Afghanistan; calls to ensure adequatedefenders, resourcesjudges, forlawyers, thejournalists, UNcivil independentsociety investigativeactivists mechanismand forwomen-led Afghanistan;organisations;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU institutions, the Member States, the UN and the de facto authorities ofAfghan Afghanistan.authorities.