Afghanistan Peace CampaignThis comes as the UN warned earlier that it would be forced to pull out of Afghanistan if its female workers were not allowed to work.
UN Dep. Secretary-General Amina Mohammed speaking at an academic event in the US said the UN 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 [of the Taliban], a principled recognition,” Mohammed said.
“Is it possible? I don’t know. [But] 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 the engagement with the acting government would help to 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.
This comes as the former US special envoy for Afghanistan’s reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, also commented regarding the meeting and proposed “four measures”:
- 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 (Resolution 2513).”
Khalilzad said that the majority of former Afghan govt figures also “embrace the agreement as the best framework for dealing with Afghanistan’s challenges.”
“Possibly the UN will stay in Afghanistan and this doesn’t mean recognition of the interim government. The meeting is in Doha because the ambassador of some of the countries for Afghanistan are based in Doha,” said Toreq Farhadi, political analyst.
The Islamic Emirate also welcomed the convening of the meeting by the UN, saying that they hope a reasonable path will be laid out for recognition.
“They should assess the issue of Afghanistan. They should analyze it in a better way. They should have a discussion about the problems of Afghanistan and its people,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, Islamic Emirate’s spokesman.
This comes as the UN warned earlier that it would be forced to pull out of Afghanistan if its female workers were not allowed to work.