Overview of the First and Second Doha Meetings on Afghanistan

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, attempted to address the challenges and concerns of the Afghan people, including girls’ education, women’s work, and their basic rights in society, the Islamic Emirate’s commitments to the international community, and other issues, in the first Doha meeting. However, this meeting concluded without the presence of the Islamic Emirate delegation.

Before this meeting, France24 reported, citing its sources, that the Doha meeting would review the UN’s humanitarian operations in Afghanistan.

In its report, France24 said: “Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, is gathering international representatives on Monday in a closed location in Doha to find ways to influence the rulers of Afghanistan (Taliban). Guterres’s problem with the Taliban government’s action to prevent girls from going to school and women from working, even for UN programs, has deepened.”

However, this meeting did not result in solving the challenges of the Afghan people and was not considered the last meeting.

The second Doha meeting on the situation in Afghanistan and global concerns was held on the 18th and 19th of February 2024 in Doha, pursuing the following objectives:

• Consultation on Afghanistan
• Increasing international participation in a coherent and structured manner
• Appointing a special UN representative for Afghanistan
• Identifying fundamental characteristics for constructive and principled engagement
• Global concerns about the policies of the Islamic Emirate

Moeen Gul Samkanai, a political analyst, told TOLOnews about the Doha meetings: “The first meeting, where the Islamic Emirate delegation was not invited, has a separate significance. In the second meeting, when they were invited but did not participate due to certain considerations, this is the difference. The third meeting, where delegations were practically invited and the meeting was held, is the distinction. In future meetings, political, cultural, and diplomatic issues may have a significant impact.”

Although the Islamic Emirate delegation was officially invited to the second Doha meeting, the interim government refrained from attending due to their demands not being accepted.

Antonio Guterres, at the end of the second Doha meeting on the 19th of February 2024, said: “In fact, I received a letter with a set of conditions to be present in this meeting that were not acceptable. These conditions first of all denied us to talk to other representative of the Afghan society and demanded a treatment that would to a large extent be similar to recognition.”

“The value of these meetings is significant because the countries that had years of invasion and interference in Afghanistan have come together and want to make a serious decision in determining the future fate of Afghanistan,” said Aziz Stanikzai, a political analyst.

Now, it remains to be seen what the outcome of the third Doha meeting will be for Afghanistan.