UNITED NATIONS, USA: An international meeting on Afghanistan will convene in the coming weeks in Doha where envoys will seek to “clarify expectations” on multiple concerns including Taliban restrictions on women, a UN official told AFP Wednesday.
“The meeting that will take place in Doha in a few weeks with international envoys will offer an opportunity to discuss and clarify expectations on a range of issues,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The UN mission in Afghanistan has launched an assessment of its operations following a ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations.
In a speech Monday at Princeton University, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed referred to the upcoming gathering as a meeting of envoys at all levels, from the region and internationally, including Guterres.
She also addressed the prospect of the meeting discussing the “baby steps” needed that could put the Taliban hard-line Islamist regime “back on the pathway to recognition” by the international community, albeit with “conditions” attached.
“There are some who believe this can never happen. There are others that say, well, it has to happen,” Mohammed said.
“The Taliban clearly want recognition... and that’s the leverage we have.”
Last December the UN General Assembly approved a decision by its credentialing committee to postpone any approval of Kabul’s request to accredit a new ambassador representing them at the United Nations following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
Recognition of the Taliban is “an issue that can be only decided by member states,” Dujarric said Wednesday.
He stressed that the UN deputy secretary-general, who is deeply involved in the issue, spoke at Princeton merely about “reaffirming the need for the international community to have a coordinated approach regarding Afghanistan.”
“This includes finding common ground on the longer-term vision for the country, and sending a unified message to the de facto authorities on the imperative to ensure women have their rightful place in the Afghan society.”
The meeting is expected around May 1 and is being held at the initiative of the secretary-general, according to a UN source.
It was unclear at this stage whether or not the Taliban would be represented at the talks.
On April 4 the Taliban banned Afghan women from working for UN offices countrywide, sparking opprobrium from the West and a United Nations review of the world body’s Afghanistan operations.
UN eyes upcoming international meeting in Doha on Afghanistan
https://arab.news/68qps
UN eyes upcoming international meeting in Doha on Afghanistan
- The UN mission in Afghanistan has launched an assessment of its operations following a ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations
- In a speech Monday at Princeton University, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed referred to the upcoming gathering as a meeting of envoys at all levels
North Korea says it respects Iran’s choice of new supreme leader: KCNA
- North Korea, a longstanding US adversary, has previously condemned the US-Israeli attack on Iran an “illegal act of aggression”
- Defying US President Donald Trump’s desire to have a say in who runs Iran, the Islamic republic on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, longtime ruler Ali Khamenei, who died in an Israeli airstrike on February 28
SEOUL: North Korea respects Iran’s choice of new supreme leader, state media reported Wednesday, as it accused the United States and Israel of destroying regional peace.
“With regard to the recent official announcement that Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected the new leader of the Islamic Revolution, we respect the rights and choice of the Iranian people to elect their supreme leader,” an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by state news agency KCNA.
Defying US President Donald Trump’s desire to have a say in who runs Iran, the Islamic republic on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, longtime ruler Ali Khamenei, who died in an Israeli airstrike on February 28.
North Korea, a longstanding US adversary, has previously condemned the US-Israeli attack on Iran an “illegal act of aggression.”
On Wednesday, the North Korean spokesperson reiterated that position, saying that the United States and Israel “are destroying the regional peace and security foundations and escalating instability worldwide.”
“Any rhetorical threats and military action, which violate the political system and territorial integrity of the relevant country, interfere in its internal affairs and openly advocate the attempt to overthrow its social system, deserve worldwide criticism and rejection as they can never be tolerated,” the spokesperson added.
In recent months, the Trump administration has mounted a push to revive high-level talks with Pyongyang, eyeing a potential summit between the US president and the North’s Kim Jong Un this year.
After largely ignoring those overtures for months, Kim recently said that the two nations could “get along” if Washington accepted Pyongyang’s nuclear status.
