UN talks in Qatar seek to pressure Taliban on women's rights

Closed-door talks include diplomatic envoys and aid donors, but not the Taliban

Burqa-clad women walk past a Taliban security agent along a street in Jalalabad. AFP

Envoys from nearly two dozen countries and international institutions met behind closed doors on Monday in Qatar for talks on Afghanistan, focusing on women's rights under the Taliban regime, the UN said.

But the Taliban, who have been in power since August 2021, are absent from the two-day meeting.

The UN on Monday said the aim of the meeting was to "achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban on issues including human rights, in particular women's and girls' rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking".

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said recognition of the Taliban rule "is not up for discussion” at the meeting.

“The issue of recognising who sits behind the nameplate of any country in this organisation is a decision made by member states,” Mr Dujarric said in New York.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution last week demanding that the Taliban “swiftly reverse” all restrictions that breach the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Afghan women are barred from almost all secondary education and universities, and prevented from working in most government jobs.

Last month, Taliban authorities extended the ban to working with UN agencies.

On Friday, the Taliban said the decision to ban Afghan women from working for the UN was an “internal social matter”.

“We remain committed to ensuring all rights of Afghan women while emphasising that diversity must be respected and not politicised,” the Taliban's Foreign Ministry said.

The world body, which is undertaking an operational review, has said it faces an "appalling choice" over whether to maintain its humanitarian efforts in the South Asian country.

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, is due to give an update this Friday on the review.

“Reversing all measures that restrict women’s rights to work is key to reaching the millions of people in Afghanistan that require humanitarian assistance. Afghans urgently need emergency aid,” said Mr Guterres in a tweet before leaving to Qatar on Saturday.