Meeting on Afghanistan will be hosted by UN head in Doha in May

A global conference on Afghanistan is being organised by the UN secretary-general and will take place May 1-2 in Doha. At this conference, envoys will look for a “durable way forward” for the war-torn country.

According to spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Antonio Guterres will preside over the closed-door meeting with special envoys on Afghanistan from various nations who hope to “clarify expectations” on issues such as the Taliban’s restrictions on women.

Dujarric told reporters at UN headquarters, “The goal of this sort of small group gathering is for us to revitalise the international involvement around the common objectives for a lasting solution to the situation in Afghanistan.

In his words, Guterres “continues to believe that it’s an urgent priority to advance an approach based on pragmatism and principles, combined with strategic patience, and to identify parameters for creative, flexible, principled, and constructive engagement.”

The Taliban leadership’s participation in the negotiations was not yet certain.

Following a restriction on Afghan women working for the international organisation, the United Nations mission in Afghanistan has started an evaluation of its activities.

The UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed mentioned the possibility of the envoys meeting to discuss the “baby steps” that could put the Taliban back on the path to recognition by the international community, though with conditions attached, in her remarks on Monday, which were followed by the announcement of the meeting in the capital of Qatar.

Some people think this will never happen. Others claim that it must occur, Mohammed remarked in a speech at Princeton University.

“The leverage we have is that the Taliban clearly want to be recognised.”

But the spokesperson Dujarric emphasised on Wednesday that Mohammed “was not in any way implying that anyone else except member states have the authority for recognition” of Afghanistan’s government.

Following the Taliban’s restoration to power in August 2021, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution by its credentialing committee last December to postpone any confirmation of Kabul’s request to accredit a new ambassador to the organisation.

The UN deputy secretary-general, who is heavily involved in the matter, talked at Princeton, according to Dujarric, just about “reaffirming the need for the international community to have a coordinated approach regarding Afghanistan.”

The need to guarantee that women have their proper role in Afghan society, he said, is one of the things that must be addressed. “This includes finding common ground on the longer-term vision for the country, and sending a united message to the de facto authorities,” he said.

On April 4, the Taliban outlawed Afghan women from working for UN offices nationwide, drawing condemnation from the West and prompting a UN review of the international organization’s operations in Afghanistan.