AIBAIE was formed after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021 following a two-decade war with the United States and its allies.

The resurgence of the Taliban caused the leadership of the original Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA), Afghan judges, prosecutors and lawyers to flee the country as their work towards establishing and upholding the rule of law, human rights and democracy were diametrically opposed to the way the Taliban intended to rule the country.

During the recently held IBA mid-year council meeting in Bucharest, leaders of the world’s national bar associations and law societies voted unanimously to welcome back to the IBA the AIBA in its current format as an entity in exile.

In a joint statement, the president of the AIBAIE, Ruhullah Qarizada, and member of the AIBAE’s leadership council, Rafi Nadiri, said: “Each and every Afghan lawyer appreciates this moment. The extension of our membership of the International Bar Association is a clear message for us and all our members that we are not alone in our critical situation: we know a large group of our international colleagues are with us and support us.

“We believe that with the official renewal of our membership, we will be able to work more effectively for our members both inside and outside Afghanistan via strong and regular coordination with the IBA.”

Dr Mark Ellis, IBA executive director, who led the formation of the original AIBA and first proposed the creation of a bar in exile, said: “This vote sends a clear signal that the IBA has not forgotten the Afghan legal community, nor has the Taliban’s takeover succeeded in destroying the work and achievements of the independent bar that the IBA, in consultation and partnership with Afghanistan’s lawyers, helped to establish.

“We will continue to support the AIBAIE’s vital work as the representative organisation and global home for those lawyers who are suffering persecution in their homeland and facing the immense challenges of living as refugees around the world.”