UN chief to host meeting on Afghanistan on May 1 and 2 in Doha

New Delhi: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will convene a meeting on Afghanistan in Doha behind closed doors that will be attended by the envoys on Afghanistan from various countries to work on a unified approach to dealing with the Taliban authorities, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

The meeting is occurring when the U.N. recently warned that it would be forced to pull out of Afghanistan if its female workers were not allowed to work. Around 4000 UN staff are presently working from home, and the U.N. must decide in the first week of May how to work in difficult Afghanistan, where women are barred from working or studying higher classes.

The meeting in Doha is taking place on May 1-2. It was announced after U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed suggested a gathering at a University in the U.S. that "could find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition ... of the Taliban, a principled recognition - in other words, there are conditions."

Speaking at an educational event in the U.S., U.N. Dep. Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the U.N. plans to arrange a conference with various envoys to discuss granting recognition to the Islamic Emirate.

"And out of that, we hope that we'll find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition , a principled recognition," Mohammed said.

"Is it possible? I don't know. that discussion has to happen. The Taliban clearly want recognition, and that's the leverage we have," said the deputy secretary general.

Mohammed said that engaging with the interim government would help hold them accountable for their actions. "We cannot allow that they continue to get worse, which is what happens when you don't engage," she said.

Her remarks sparked a backlash from some countries. The Taliban administration's desire for recognition is viewed as crucial international leverage to press for an inclusive government and respect for rights, particularly for women, in Afghanistan.

An Afghan analyst said, "Ruling Taliban has been successful in creating pressure on world powers to get recognized, at least forcing them to think about the recognition when they continue to spread their dictate and decree on the population, primarily women, unacceptable to the civilized world."

It leads to confusion as two opposing statements come from different United Nations offices. One of the journalists said that the U.N. is acting like a "sort of good cop, bad cop" when they say at one end of the scale, the U.N. could be pulling out. On the other end of the scale, there could be recognition."

While confirming the meeting, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Wednesday that the Doha meeting will aim to "reinvigorate the international engagement around common objectives for a durable way forward on ... Afghanistan."

"…will indeed be a meeting in Doha on 1 and 2 May, which the Secretary-General will host with Special Envoys on Afghanistan from various countries. This small group meeting aims to reinvigorate international engagement around the common objectives for a durable way forward in Afghanistan."

The spokesperson added, "The Secretary-General has said and continues to believe that it's an urgent priority to advance an approach based on pragmatism and principles, combined with strategic patience, and identify parameters for creative, flexible, principled, and constructive engagement. It is his aim that the discussions, which will be held behind closed doors, can contribute to a more unified consensus regarding the challenges ahead."

Earlier this month, the Taliban began enforcing a ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations after stopping most women from working for humanitarian aid groups and NGOs in December.

Since toppling the Western-backed government, they have also tightened controls over women's access to public life, including barring women from university and closing most girls' high schools. The Taliban says it respects women's rights following its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

"The intent and purpose of this meeting was never to discuss recognition of the Taliban and any discussion at the meeting about recognition would be unacceptable," said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia also told reporters the meeting was not intended to be about recognition, but rather "be looking for the opinions of those special envoys on how they see the way out for Afghanistan."

The Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew following 20 years of war. In December, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly approved postponing, for the second time, a decision on whether to recognize the Afghan Taliban administration by allowing them to send a United Nations ambassador to New York.

Taliban of late has increased pressure on U.N. and friendly countries demanding their recognition at the international level and United Nations. No country so far has recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan. There are around 14 embassies operational in Afghanistan.

U.N. Spokesperson stated that the recognition issue was "clearly in the hands of the member states" and not the U.N. The meeting came into place when the U.N. said that it would be forced to pull out of Afghanistan if its female workers were not allowed to work.

"The topic of recognition is clearly in the hands of the Member States. And it is a fact, it's according to the Charter, and there's no question on that. To put, I think, a bit of a context to what the Deputy Secretary-General was saying: She, as you know, has been on the front lines of fighting for the inalienable rights of women and girls in Afghanistan…She was in Kandahar. She was in Kabul and Herat. She spoke face-to-face with Taliban leaders on this issue. I think in her remarks in Princeton, she was reaffirming the need for the international community to have a coordinated approach regarding Afghanistan, which includes finding common ground on the longer-term vision of the country and sending a unified message to the de facto authorities on the imperative to ensure that women have their rightful place in Afghan society."

Former U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad suggested four measures for the proposed meeting:

•  Full implementation of the Doha Agreement should be embraced as the common goal. 
•  A roadmap for implementation, considering the current conditions in Afghanistan, is needed 
• To develop the road map, the Secretary-General and the Envoys should have a session with the Taliban during their deliberations. 
• As a follow-up to the meeting, the Secretary-General should appoint a personal Envoy to work with Afghans and the relevant internationals in developing and implementing the roadmap.

According to Khalilzad, there has been unanimity among "Taliban leaders in support of the agreement; the UNSC unanimously endorsed the agreement as a significant step." Khalilzad said that the majority of former Afghan govt figures also "embrace the agreement as the best framework for dealing with Afghanistan's challenges."

A Taliban spokesperson also welcomed the convening of the meeting by the U.N., saying that "They should assess the issue of Afghanistan. They should analyze it in a better way. They should discuss the problems of Afghanistan and its people," said Zabiullah Mujahid, the interim government spokesman.