ICC Rejects Prosecutor Request to Investigate War Crimes in Afghanistan

On April 12, 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) unanimously rejected the request of the Prosecutor to proceed with an investigation for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. On November 20, 2017, the Prosecutor submitted the “Request for authorization of an investigation pursuant to Article 15” (the 'Request'), together with 14 annexes, in which the Pre-Trial Chamber is requested to authorize the commencement of an investigation into the Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in relation to alleged crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan in the period since May 1, 2003. The Request also extended to other alleged crimes that have a nexus to the armed conflict in Afghanistan, are sufficiently linked to the situation, and were committed on the territory of other States Parties in the period since July 1, 2002.