Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Amnesty International, the End Gender Apartheid Campaign and Human Rights Watch say efforts to recognize gender apartheid as an international crime have reached a significant stage, following the release of the first formal proposals to amend a draft United Nations treaty on crimes against humanity.
The organizations said the proposals, published on June 3, 2026, along with positions submitted by governments to the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee, will form the basis for negotiations on the treaty, scheduled to begin in January 2028.
Australia, Spain, Uruguay, Iceland, Mexico and Timor-Leste have proposed including gender apartheid in the draft treaty. Their proposal defines it as inhumane acts committed as part of an institutionalized system of systematic oppression and domination by one gender group over another, with the purpose of maintaining that system.
The three organizations said 14 countries have so far publicly supported recognizing gender apartheid as an international crime. They called on additional governments to endorse the proposal and submit formal recommendations before negotiations begin.
The organizations also highlighted the role of Afghan women in pushing for international recognition of gender apartheid, saying the campaign has emerged from years of advocacy by women seeking international accountability for what they describe as systematic and institutionalized discrimination under Taliban rule.
They said Afghan women have argued that the term accurately reflects the restrictions and abuses imposed on women and girls and provides a framework for addressing such systems of oppression under international law.
The organizations urged governments to use the period before the 2028–2029 negotiations to formally support the inclusion of gender apartheid in the proposed treaty.
If adopted, the provision would establish gender apartheid as a specific crime under the international legal framework governing crimes against humanity. However, the proposal remains subject to negotiations among UN member states and has not yet been adopted as international law.