Afghan Taliban government to participate in next round of UN negotiations in Doha

The Taliban government's participation in the conference of foreign special envoys to Afghanistan was in doubt after it was excluded from the first round of negotiations and then refused an invitation to the second round in February.

“A delegation from the Islamic Emirate will participate in the next conference in Doha. It will represent Afghanistan there and express Afghanistan's position,” Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.

The Doha negotiations are scheduled for June 30 and July 1 and have already been criticized by women's groups.

Moudjahid told Afghan media on Sunday that a delegation — which has not yet been announced — would be present because the agenda of the talks seemed “beneficial for Afghanistan.”

The agenda includes “important topics such as aid to Afghanistan and creating opportunities for investors in Afghanistan,” he said.

However, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi warned in a post on social networking site would naturally affect our decision to attend.

Launched by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in May 2023, the series of talks aims to “increase international engagement with Afghanistan in a more coherent, coordinated and structured manner”, according to the UN.

– Calls to prioritize women –

Civil society groups including women were invited to the February talks, but the Taliban government refused to participate unless its members could be Afghanistan's only representatives.

He also requested a meeting with António Guterres, who said at the time that the conditions for participation “were not acceptable.”

In recent weeks, several UN representatives and international envoys have held meetings with the Taliban government on the upcoming Doha talks, in which Guterres will not participate.

Diplomatic sources told AFP there were plans to consult Afghan civil society groups before and after the upcoming talks, but they would not participate in meetings involving Taliban authorities.

The sources said the official meetings were expected to focus on financial and economic issues, as well as counter-narcotics efforts.

Several civil society groups have urged the UN to prioritize women's rights and include Afghan women.

“The world must provide platforms for the Afghan people and women to discuss the future of their country,” Hoda Khamosh, an Afghan women's rights activist now based in Norway, told AFP.

“Yet they are not heard because the world interacts with the Taliban anyway, even though they say they do not recognize them.”

The international community has grappled with its approach to the Taliban government since its return to power in 2021, which is still not officially recognized by any other state.

The Taliban government has imposed a strict interpretation of Islam, with women subject to laws described by the UN as “gender apartheid”.

Heather Barr, deputy women's rights director at Human Rights Watch, said the Taliban should not have been allowed to make demands on the conditions of the meetings, given their policies targeting women.

“It is unthinkable that diplomats could come together to discuss Afghanistan in the midst of such a crisis and do so without women's rights being the main issue on the agenda and Afghan women fully participating in the discussion,” she told AFP.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding Rosemary DiCarlo extended a pre-invitation to the talks to Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi during a visit to Afghanistan in May, according to a statement.

A key part of the talks in the Gulf state, which hosted the Taliban during years of peace talks with the United States, is an independent UN assessment of Afghanistan released at the end of the year last.

The assessment, supported by Western countries, suggests that recognition of Taliban authorities is linked to the removal of restrictions on women's rights and their access to education.

It also recommends the appointment of a UN special envoy, which the Taliban government has rejected.