KABUL: Afghan Taliban are touting a United Nations invitation to conference in Qatar, Doha later this month, seeing it as an acknowledgment of their administration’s increasing significance globally, western media reported.
The two-day UN conference between Afghan Taliban and international diplomats on Afghanistan is set for June 30 in Qatar, amid sharp criticism from rights groups for excluding Afghan women representatives.
It will be the 3rd session of “Doha process,” and the interim Afghan rulers have agreed to attend for the first time. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Afghanistan has been officially invited to attend the Doha conference. Afghan Taliban returned to power about three years ago and set up their hardline male-only government in Kabul, which has yet to be recognized by the world. According to VOA, Muttaqi said that they have developed good ties with neighboring and regional nations and are also actively pursuing positive and cordial relations with US and Western governments.
U.N. chief Antonio Guterres had launched the Doha process a year ago to set up a unified world approach to engagement with Afghan Taliban, who have banned Afghan girls from education and women from private and public workplaces. The UN Secretary General did not invite the interim Afghan rulers to the first Doha meeting in May 2023, and they denied to take part in the second this past February, quoting the participation of human rights activists and Afghan civil society representatives.
Officials of the UN have defended the upcoming rare talks with Afghan Taliban, pledging that special envoys from around 25 nations at the meeting will “forcefully” raise limitations on women’s and girls’ rights, among other human rights concerns.
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have abruptly criticized the United Nations for inviting Afghan Taliban to the Doha conference rather than holding them accountable for “crimes” against Afghan girls and women. The UN Secretary General chaired the last Doha meetings, but the next session will be hosted by DiCarlo.
