UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo on Monday defended the decision to sideline civil society groups in official talks in Doha, saying Taliban officials had been told women must be included in public life.
Human rights organisations have strongly criticised a controversial UN move to exclude groups including women’s rights activists from a two-day meeting on Afghanistan, describing it as the price of the Taliban government’s participation.
“Officials will not sit down at the negotiating table with Afghan civil society in this format, but they have heard very clearly the need to include women and civil society in all aspects of public life,” DiCarlo said at a press conference in Doha.
The UN-hosted meeting began on Sunday and is the third such gathering to be held in Qatar in a little over a year, but the first to include Taliban officials, who seized power in Afghanistan for a second time in 2021.
The talks were to discuss increased cooperation with Afghanistan and a more coordinated response to the country, including economic issues and anti-drugs efforts.
The international community has struggled with its approach to the Taliban since its return to power, and no country has officially recognised its government.
‘Gender apartheid’
The group enforces a strict interpretation of Islam that subjects women to laws that the United Nations has called “gender apartheid.”
The Taliban rejected an invitation to the Doha talks in February, insisting that it would be only Afghan representatives, excluding civil society groups. But their condition was accepted in preparation for this latest round.
The United States said it had agreed to participate in Monday’s talks after receiving assurances that the talks would include meaningful discussions on human rights.
State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said that US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West and US Special Envoy for the Rights of Afghan Women and Girls Rina Amiri in Doha “made clear that the Afghan economy cannot grow unless the rights of half the population are respected.”
DiCarlo, who chaired UN talks in the Qatari capital, said she was “hopeful” the Taliban government’s policy on women in public life, including the education of girls, would be “reconsidered anew”.
Following the conclusion of the main meetings, UN and international delegations will have the opportunity to meet representatives of civil society, including women’s rights groups.
But Amnesty International chief Agnes Callamard said in a statement ahead of the talks that “bowing to the Taliban’s conditions to ensure their participation in the talks would risk legitimising their institutionalised system of gender-based oppression.”
Taliban officials have repeatedly said that the rights of all citizens are guaranteed under Islamic law.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban delegation, told more than 20 special envoys and UN officials present at the opening session that diplomats should “find ways of dialogue and understanding rather than confrontation” despite “natural” differences in policy.
‘Engaging constructively’
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is also keen to engage constructively with Western countries,” Mujahid said.
“Like any sovereign state, we uphold certain religious and cultural values and public aspirations that must be acknowledged,” he said.
Mujahid also called for an end to sanctions and said Afghans were “being attacked”.
A Taliban government spokesman questioned whether the current restrictions were “appropriate behavior” after “nearly half a century of war and insecurity as a result of foreign invasions and interference.”
Russia, which maintains an embassy in Kabul, has hinted it may lift its sanctions, and said the groups are the de facto authorities.
“We have been saying all along that you have to recognize this fact and treat them that way, because whether you like it or not, this movement is now running the country. You can’t simply ignore it,” said Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations.
DiCarlo said the issue of sanctions was raised, but was not discussed in depth.
He said, “It is a matter of member countries whether they will continue certain restrictions or not. The restrictions are on people, not on entire countries.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)