The Rawadari organization says that the “Taliban Courts Penal Code,” through the explicit use of the term (Ghulam) in several provisions, implicitly legitimizes slavery and recognizes it as a legal status.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, January 22, Rawadari said that Article 15 of the code states: “For any crime for which no fixed limit punishment is prescribed, a discretionary punishment (ta’zir) shall be imposed, whether the offender is free or a slave.” It added that Clause Five of Article Four specifies that the implementation of limit punishments is the responsibility of the “imam,” while the enforcement of discretionary punishments (ta’zir) may be carried out by the “husband” or the “master.”
Rawadari stressed that categorizing individuals as “free” or “slave” and the explicit mention of the term “ghulam” in the document amount to the recognition of a legal status that is absolutely prohibited and stands in clear contradiction to the principle of equality, human dignity, and all fundamental human rights standards.
The organization added that slavery is prohibited under international law in all circumstances and without exception, and constitutes a peremptory norm of international law that no state or group has the right to violate.
Rawadari warned that the enforcement of such provisions could pave the way for widespread human rights violations and further undermine the status of human dignity in Afghanistan.
