What changed

B100252/2026

B100247/2026

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 itsRule previous150 resolutionsof onthe Afghanistan,Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas since their 2021 takeover, the Taliban have severely restricted the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Afghan people, particularly women and girls; whereas Afghanistan is the only country world-wide banning girls and women from secondary and university education;

A. whereas since August 2021 the Taliban have systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls, excluding them from education, employment, public life and access to justice; whereas UNESCO reports that 2.2 million girls remain banned from school;

B. whereas on 4.1.2026, the Taliban imposed the “Criminal Procedure Code for the Courts” codifying systemic repression by entrenching discrimination based on gender, religion, belief, and social status, institutionalising capital punishment, torture, destruction and confiscation of property and introducing slavery, breaching international law;

B. whereas the Taliban’s Criminal Procedure Code for Courts further institutionalises repression by criminalising criticism of Taliban authorities, compelling the reporting of dissent, restricting religious freedom and granting broad discretionary powers to judges;

C. whereas the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Taliban Leaders for crimes against humanity;

C. whereas UN Women, OHCHR, Amnesty International and Afghan civil society organisations warn that the new code deepens the justice gap for women and girls and legitimises violence and discrimination against them;

D. whereas, in 2024, the European Court of Justice confirmed that women and girls at risk of violence and discrimination, qualify for refugee status based on gender;

D. whereas the code reportedly recognises only “excessive” beating as domestic violence (maximum penalty 15 days detention), thereby denying effective legal protection to women and girls subjected to abuse;

E. whereas the Council Conclusions from 15 September 2021 restrict engagement to five narrow benchmarks; whereas the European Commission in cooperation with Sweden plans to invite Taliban representatives to Brussels for discussions on returns of Afghan nationals;

E. whereas women judges, prosecutors and lawyers have been removed from the justice system, leaving women and girls without meaningful judicial remedies or protection;

Condemns the Taliban’s systemic discrimination against women and girls and reiterates that their erasure from public life constitutes gender apartheid and may may amount to crimes against humanity;

F. whereas the UN, the European Parliament and international human rights experts have characterised the Taliban’s policies as gender persecution and gender apartheid;

Denounces the imposition of the Criminal Procedure Code for Courts by the Taliban and urges the de facto authorities to immediately revoke the regulation and stop its implementation;

G. whereas the ICC has issued arrest warrants against senior Taliban leaders for crimes against humanity based on gender persecution;

Urges Afghan de facto authorities to halt ongoing widespread and systematic human rights violations against women, girls, and the people at large, fully respect the country’s obligations under international human rights law, and end all discriminatory policies and actions;

H. whereas reports that the Commission’s invitation of Taliban representatives to Brussels in the context of migration discussions undermines the EU’s credibility as a defender of human rights and women’s rights;

Calls on the EU and Member States to actively support all efforts to hold the Taliban accountable, notably, the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism, the recognition of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity, the CEDAW legal proceedings and the investigations by the ICC;

I. whereas OHCHR and human rights organisations documented serious abuses against forcibly returned Afghans, in particular women and girls;

Calls on the VP/HR to propose additional listing of individuals and entities in Afghanistan responsible for grave human rights abuses under the EU Global Human Rights Sanction Regime, notably the Taliban leadership;

Strongly condemns the Taliban’s systematic oppression of women and girls and its adoption of the Criminal Procedure Code for Courts, which entrenches gender-based apartheid and suppresses fundamental freedoms;

Recalls the Council’s five benchmarks conditioning EU engagement with the de facto authorities; calls on the European Commission and Member States to discard its plans to invite Taliban representatives to Brussels, which risks granting political visibility, procedural recognition, and bargaining power, while undermining EU human rights commitments; deplores bilateral contacts of certain Member States with the Taliban to facilitate deportations; expresses alarm at reports that Taliban-linked individuals accredited as diplomats have taken effective control of Afghan consular representations in the EU;

Strongly criticises the Commission for inviting Taliban representatives to Brussels; stresses that legitimising a regime responsible for crimes against women and girls fundamentally contradicts the EU’s values and human rights commitments;

7. Calls on Member States to expedite humanitarian visas and protection pathways for Afghans at risk and immediately and strictly refrain from deportation of Afghan nationals seeking asylum, as due to the current situation in Afghanistan, returns violate non-refoulement and the European Convention on Human Rights;

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to refrain from any action that could lead to the de facto recognition of the Taliban regime;

8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU institutions, the HRVP, the Member States, and Afghanistan.

Opposes deportations or forced returns of women and others protected by the principle of non-refoulement to Afghanistan; stresses that Afghanistan cannot be considered a safe country, especially for women and girls living under a system of gender apartheid;

Calls on the Member States to guarantee international protection for Afghan women and girls, particularly human rights defenders, judges, journalists, academics and former public officials;

Strongly condemns the Taliban’s brutal repression of media freedom including arbitrary journalist detentions, torture and discriminatory curbs on women journalists;

Welcomes international accountability efforts, including ICC proceedings concerning crimes against humanity, and reiterates its call for the recognition of gender apartheid under international law;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the United Nations and the de facto authorities of Afghanistan.