US Congressman Commends Efforts by Afghans To Unite Against Taliban Atrocities

The resolution, which has been drafted by Japan and the United Arab Emirates, described the oppression and violation of the rights of Afghan women and girls as unprecedented in the history of the United Nations.

If approved, this will be the first time that the UN Security Council will condemn the discriminatory policies of the Taliban against Afghan women. China and Russia, the two permanent members of the Security Council who have good relations with the Taliban, have not yet agreed with the Security Council's strong position on the Taliban.

The draft resolution specifically calls on the Taliban to immediately lift the ban on women's work, education, and social life.

This is while the Taliban seeks recognition from the member states of the United Nations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said on Tuesday that Moscow will not recognise the Taliban until it fulfils its commitments.

He added that the conditions for the official recognition of the Taliban are the formation of an inclusive government with the presence of ethnic groups and political forces, as well as respect for human rights in Afghanistan.

The signatories of the letter said that the United Nations should not facilitate the ground for recognition of “a terrorist regime”.

According to the letter, the Taliban will not change by giving "political concessions".

Responding to widespread criticism of Afghan politicians and civil activists, a spokesperson for the UN, said that the focus of the UN Secretary General's meeting in Doha will be to coordinate the efforts of the countries' representatives for Afghanistan and send a single message to the Taliban.

The United Nations has not clarified if the issue of official recognition of the Taliban is on the agenda of the meeting and whether the representatives of the Taliban have been invited to participate in the Doha meeting.

However, the signatories of the letter, who are mainly young political and civil activists, have said that they are against "any political plan whose specific purpose is to create grounds for the international recognition of the Taliban regime".

The letter stated, "Since the illegal takeover of power by the Taliban in August 2021, they have systematically violated the basic human rights of more than thirty million Afghan citizens. Women, who constitute at least half of the country's population, have been excluded from social life.”

The signatories have expressed their anger at the recently delivered statements of Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, and her "justifications" regarding the necessity of engagement with the Taliban. They have asked the United Nations to give an official explanation of Mohammed’s statements.

Earlier, Mohammed had said at Princeton University that to prevent the deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan and other decisions of the Taliban, it is necessary to engage with the group. She had expressed hopes that the first steps of the official recognition of the Taliban would be discussed at the Doha meeting.

According to Massoud, the Taliban, despite its extremism, has been trying to portray themselves differently to the international community.

The NRF leader said that before the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, they had warned the international community about the possibility of the collapse of the state, but no one heard them.

However, Massoud expressed confidence in the victory of the NRF against the Taliban and stressed that the goal of the Vienna meeting was to expand the resistance for the freedom of Afghanistan from the Taliban.

He also hoped that soon a major coalition will be formed against the Taliban.

Massoud was addressing a press conference on Wednesday after the end of the three days meeting of anti-Taliban figures in Vienna.

The first meeting of these forces was held in 2022 in Vienna.

In an interview with Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA), Zahedian stressed that in the last two decades, drug production in Afghanistan has reached more than 50%.

The Iranian official accused the US and NATO member states of supporting drug cultivation in Afghanistan.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime also announced in November 2022 that opium cultivation had increased around 30 percent since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.

The participants of the Vienna meeting also asked the organisers of the upcoming Doha meeting to refrain from any discussion that would lead to the continuation of the Taliban reign in Afghanistan.

The Doha meeting is scheduled to be held on May 1 and 2 and will be hosted by the United Nations Secretary-General.

Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front (NRF); Fawzia Kofi, a former member of the Afghan parliament; Rangin Dadfar Sapanta, the former foreign minister of Afghanistan, and many other Taliban opponents attended the second meeting held in Vienna.

The participants of the meeting also stressed that the UN deputy secretary general Amina Mohammed should explain her recent irresponsible statements on Afghanistan.

The first meeting of anti-Taliban leaders was held in 2022 in Vienna.

In their declaration, the participants of the Vienna meeting emphasised that the Taliban have not responded to the legitimate and rightful demands of the Afghan people, which had been listed in the declaration of the first round of the Vienna meeting and have increased their brutality.

The participants of the second Vienna meeting praised the legitimate resistance of the political groups and women and girls of Afghanistan and emphasised on coordination of all anti-Taliban groups.

According to the declaration, a working group has been formed to foster better coordination for the unity of the opposition.

The participants also mentioned the Taliban's restrictions on women and their systematic exclusion from social life and said that they consider the international community's reaction, especially the silence of the United Nations with regards to the violation of Afghan women’s rights, to be irresponsible.

Emphasising that many regional and international terrorist groups have moved to Afghanistan and their operational capabilities have increased, the participants of the Vienna meeting have warned that the risk of spreading terrorism in the region has become a serious threat.

The declaration also welcomed the consensus of the region and the world regarding the non-recognition of the Taliban until the establishment of a government based on the free will of the Afghan people and urged the International Criminal Court to identify and prosecute the Taliban leaders who have committed "crimes against humanity, war crimes and systematic violations of human rights”.