Wanted by The Hague, Welcomed in Brussels: Europe's Taliban Problem

Five years after Kabul fell and the world promised never to legitimize the Taliban, five of its officials walked into EU headquarters: no protests, no denial, just visas and a handshake. What changed?

Five men who answer to a national leadership that is wanted by an international court walked into Brussels on June 23 and sat down with European Union officials. Nobody in the room spoke of diplomatic recognition. Nobody needed to.

The Taliban delegation, representing a government whose two top leaders face active ICC arrest warrants, had just been let in the front door of the bloc that spent five years denouncing its treatment of women. This same government presides over a collapse of basic services that is now starving its own children.

The World Food Program warned on August 4 that conflict, unemployment, rising food prices, and disrupted supply chains are pushing humanitarian needs higher across Afghanistan, and that aid reductions have already shuttered health centers and cut off vulnerable children from critical nutrition services.

Yet even as the humanitarian picture darkens, Brussels opened diplomatic doors to the men running the country.

Here’s why.