C T Online Desk: Representatives of nearly two dozen countries and international institutions met on Monday in Qatar for talks on Afghanistan focusing on women’s rights under the Taliban administration, the United Nations said.
The Taliban authorities are absent from the closed-door two-day meeting, and UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said recognition of their rule ‘is not up for discussion’.
Envoys from the United States, Russia, China and 20 other countries and organisations including major European aid donors and neighbours such as Pakistan joined UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for the talks in Doha, his spokesman Dujarric said.
The aim was ‘to reach points of commonality on key issues such as human rights, especially for women and girls, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking,’ Dujarric told a briefing at the UN headquarters.
Guterres wants ‘a common understanding with the international community on how to engage with the Taliban on these issues,’ he added.
Since ousting a foreign-backed government in August 2021, the Taliban authorities have imposed an austere sharia law that the UN has labelled ‘gender-based apartheid’.
Women are barred from almost all secondary education and universities, and prevented from working in most government jobs. Last month, Taliban authorities extended the ban to working with UN agencies.
The Taliban administration says the ban is an ‘internal issue’ that should not influence foreign dealings.
But in response the United Nations has ordered a review of its critical relief operation in Afghanistan, where many in the 38-million-strong population rely on food aid.
The UN has said it faces an ‘appalling choice’ over whether to maintain its relief efforts. Guterres was to give an update on the review, due to be completed on Friday.
‘Reversing all measures that restrict women’s rights to work is key to reaching the millions of people in Afghanistan that require humanitarian assistance,’ Guterres said on social media before leaving for Doha.
