The Taliban has not been invited to a United Nations-organized conference on Afghanistan in Doha, with the Afghan group governing the South Asian country saying that the two-day meeting would be “ineffective” without its participation.
Envoys from the United States, China, and Russia, as well as major European aid donors and key neighbors such as Pakistan, are among the representatives from about 25 countries and groups called to the two days of closed-door talks by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the Qatari capital on Monday.
The UN chief said the de facto Afghan rulers would not be invited to the meeting to discuss the dire humanitarian situation in the country, and a UN source told Al Jazeera that recognition for the Taliban was not on the agenda.
Before the Doha meeting, the office of the UN chief said the meeting “is intended to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban” on women’s and girls’ rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.
The Taliban has been criticized for its growing curbs on women, including a ban on education and employment. Since 2021, the Taliban have issued more than 80 orders and decrees targeting women’s rights.
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