The United Nations Secretary-General will begin consultations on the appointment of a UN envoy to coordinate engagement between the Taliban and the international community, he said on Monday.
But so far Afghanistan’s de facto rulers’ demands, which include that the UN representative not speak with other Afghan society representatives and that the UN treat the Taliban as if it were a recognised government, are not acceptable to the international organisation,
Speaking with reporters in Doha, Antonio Guterres said that he had received a letter from the Taliban government in Kabul demanding these conditions, which the UN cannot accept.
The Taliban refused to attend the UN-chaired high-level meeting of various countries’ special representatives for Afghanistan.
However, Guterres hoped that the Afghan de facto authorities would attend the next round of such meetings.
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The top UN official said the international community is stuck with the Taliban government’s recognition, emphasising that in spite of improvements, the human rights situation had deteriorated, and the issue of including various political factions in a broad-based government has not been resolved.
In December, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution asking Gueterres to appoint a special envoy for Afghanistan. The Taliban have consistently been against this.
Most recently, the UN Special Coordinator Feridun Sinirlioğlu, in an assessment report, recommended a road map for reintegrating Afghanistan back into the international economic and political system, contingent on the Taliban meeting Afghanistan’s international obligations.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have rejected calls for the formation of an inclusive government and to ensure women’s rights to education and work.
As a result, no country has recognized their government. The country’s banking reserves are frozen in the West, and senior Taliban leaders are on U.S. wanted lists.
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