UN holds crucial Afghanistan talks in Qatar, without Taliban
May 02, 2023
Doha [Qatar], May 2 : The Taliban has not been invited to a United Nations-organised conference on Afghanistan in Doha.
Envoys from the United States, China and Russia, as well as major European aid donors and key neighbours such as Pakistan, are among the representatives from about 25 countries and groups called to the two days of closed-door talks by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the Qatari capital on Monday, Al Jazeera reported.
Last week, the UN chief said the de facto Afghan rulers would not be invited to the meeting to discuss the dire humanitarian situation in the country and its international isolation. Taliban recognition was not on the agenda, Al Jazeera reported citing a UN source.
The Taliban has been criticised for its growing curbs on women, including a ban on education and employment.
The Doha Agreement resulted in the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 after 20 years of occupation, leading to the collapse of the West-backed government, Al Jazeera reported.
The Taliban was accused of violating the Doha Agreement after the country's military takeover.
Before the Doha meeting, the office of the UN chief said the forum "is intended to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban" on women's and girls' rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.
The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned the curbs on Afghan women. The UN, which has been engaging with the Taliban, provides food aid to millions of Afghans. The UN deputy chief travelled to Kabul in January to meet Taliban leaders to press the group on women's rights and education, Al Jazeera reported.
The Doha meeting is crucial for the international community's engagement with Afghanistan.
It comes as the UN is expected to review its critical relief operation in Afghanistan in the wake of Afghan women being stopped from working with the global agency.
The UN has said it faces an "appalling choice" over whether to maintain its huge operation in the country of 38 million. The review is scheduled to be completed on Friday.
