Afghanistan conference: Guterres rejects Taliban conditions

AAs a condition of their participation in an international Afghanistan conference, the Taliban government there demanded treatment for their delegation that would have amounted to diplomatic recognition. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said this on Monday at the end of the two-day conference in Doha, which took place without the participation of the Taliban. He received a letter with conditions that were “unacceptable.” The Taliban wanted to prevent the Afghanistan special envoys from various countries gathered in Doha from “speaking to other representatives of Afghan society,” said Guterres. According to Afghan media reports, three women's rights activists and a journalist from an exile broadcaster were invited as representatives of civil society.

There was no agreement on a central issue at the conference, the appointment of a UN special envoy for Afghanistan. The creation of such a post was recommended in a report commissioned by the UN Security Council to work towards the long-term reintegration of Afghanistan into the international system. However, China and Russia did not follow this recommendation. Guterres said he wanted to “clarify the role of the envoy” to the de facto government in Kabul. The Taliban reject such an office as foreign interference.

According to Guterres, the meeting of the special envoys should be made permanent as a discussion format. At the next meeting, efforts will be made again to have the Taliban government participate. In addition, a new contact group should better coordinate how Afghanistan's neighboring countries and donor countries deal with the Taliban. There are fears that neighboring countries could dilute their diplomatic isolation through closer cooperation with the Taliban. Guterres expressed “deep solidarity” with Afghan women and girls who are banned by the Taliban from going to school, studying and working.

The UN Secretary General distanced himself from a statement from the Russian Embassy in Kabul, which described the Taliban's rejection as “justified”. They were only offered participation in a “marginal part” of the event, the embassy wrote on Platform Their selection was “non-transparent” and took place “behind Kabul’s back”. Journalist Lotfullah Najafizada, who attended as a representative of civil society, described the Taliban's rejection as a “strategic mistake.” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said participation would have damaged “the dignity, unity and independence of the Afghan people.”