Afghanistan Peace CampaignOn December 6, Norway limited its relations with the Islamic Emirate, citing human rights violations in Afghanistan.
The reopening of embassies, the appointment of new Islamic Emirate consuls to several Afghan embassies abroad, and the closure of others were some of the major developments in Afghanistan’s foreign policy in 2024.
This year, at least two ambassadors of the Islamic Emirate officially presented their credentials. Abdul Ghaffar Bahar presented his credentials to the Uzbekistan Foreign Minister on October 10, and Badruddin Haqqani presented his credentials to the UAE President on November 28.
Other achievements included the reopening of Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Kabul and the introduction of diplomats from Kazakhstan, India, and Oman, bringing the number of active Islamic Emirate diplomatic missions abroad to over 40. Meanwhile, the number of foreign embassies in Kabul increased to nearly 20.
Hamidullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, said: “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has achieved significant progress in political and diplomatic fields, establishing high-level relations with countries like China, the UAE, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and several others in the region.”
On July 30, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared consular services in 13 European countries, including the UK, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece, France, Poland, Canada, Australia, and in Germany’s cities Bonn and Berlin, invalid due to non-engagement with the Islamic Emirate. Additionally, Afghanistan’s consulate in Munich and embassies in the Netherlands, Spain, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic were declared inactive.
However, countries like Italy and Nicaragua introduced non-resident ambassadors to Afghanistan. Michael Campbell was appointed by Nicaragua, and Sabrina Ugolini by Italy in 2024.Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, Deputy Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “The Islamic Emirate expresses dissatisfaction with Norway’s decision to reduce its diplomatic engagement. We hope such decisions are not linked to internal matters of countries.”
Kyrgyzstan became the second country, after Kazakhstan, to remove the Islamic Emirate from its blacklist on December 5, 2024. Russia is reportedly considering a similar step.
Throughout 2024, various meetings on Afghanistan were held, and officials of the Islamic Emirate traveled to multiple countries. These officials included the Prime Minister, his deputies for administrative, political, and economic affairs, as well as acting ministers of Interior, Defense, Foreign Affairs, Education, Higher Education, and others.
On the other hand, notable international figures, including the Uzbekistam Prime Minister, the Special Representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the UN Deputy Secretary-General for Peace Operations, and the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, visited Afghanistan.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Deputy Secretary-General for Peace Operations, told TOLOnews during his visit that he was examining various sectors offering humanitarian services and collaborating with partners to improve demining efforts in the area, which he described as the purpose of his visit.
On June 5, the UN Security Council temporarily lifted travel bans on four Islamic Emirate officials. However, in a resolution passed on December 13, the council extended the mandate of its sanctions monitoring committee for an additional 14 months.
Andres Montalvo Sosa, Chair of the UN Sanctions Committee, said that in 2024, the sanctions monitoring committee had issued 24 travel permits and extended an existing exemption allowing “Taliban” individuals on the blacklist to travel to eight member states.
The Islamic Emirate was excluded from the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, the 16th BRICS Summit, the ECO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the Regional Contact Group Meeting in Tehran. However, it participated in key events such as the OIC Summit in Gambia, the third meeting of Special Representatives for Afghanistan in Doha, and the sixth Moscow Format Consultative Meeting.
At the Moscow Format Meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized pragmatic engagement with the Islamic Emirate: “Pragmatic dialogue between Moscow and Kabul is essential. We believe that maintaining constructive dialogue with the current Afghan government is in the interest of security, economic development, and achieving national solidarity in this country.”
In 2024, five UN Security Council meetings, the second and third rounds of the Doha Process, and two regional initiatives involving special representatives from 11 countries were held. These efforts aimed to implement the independent assessment recommended by the UN Secretary-General in 2023.
The Islamic Emirate criticized the UN for delays in implementing this independent assessment. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Islamic Emirate’s spokesperson, said: “The roadmap was expected to succeed, but after a year, little progress has been made. While various meetings have been held, the expected support for Afghanistan as a UN member state has not materialized. Instead, time has been wasted.”
Despite these criticisms, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) held its first working group meeting on combating drug trafficking on November 28, based on the recommendations from the 2023 independent assessment. UNAMA described the formation of this working group as a step forward in addressing the challenges.