UN Deviating From Primary Mission, Say Taliban Opponents at Vienna Meeting

In an open letter to the international community, these leaders, participants at the 2024 Global Women Leaders Summit, called for the active and direct participation of Afghan women in the third Doha meeting.

The letter was signed by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Presidents of Lithuania and Kosovo, former Prime Ministers of Finland, New Zealand, and Australia, former Foreign Minister of Mexico, and the former head of the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission, among others.

These women stated that the international community’s exclusion of Afghan women is "outrageous" and will marginalise their voices and undermine their rights.

The leaders stated, "Afghan women’s exclusion is inconsistent with the UN Charter, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, and nine subsequent related resolutions, and conventions including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)."

The prominent international figures emphasised that ignoring women at the upcoming Doha meeting contradicts the global stance on Afghan women's rights and undermines the credibility and effectiveness of the Doha meeting.

They declared that the international community should not pave the way for the broader legitimacy of the Taliban.

The female leaders stressed, "The status and rights of women are fundamentally relevant to all discussions. We must not open a pathway for the Taliban to gain broader legitimacy, including for its oppressive treatment of women. Allowing the Taliban to dictate the terms of the Doha dialogue legitimises their draconian abuses, which amount to gender apartheid."
They asserted that this is a decisive moment for the international community to show its unwavering commitment to Afghan women and girls by insisting on their presence at the negotiating table.

The Doha meeting will be held in a few days with the participation of special representatives from regional and international players.

A Taliban spokesperson will head the group's delegation at the Doha meeting, which will be chaired by the UN Deputy Secretary-General.

He said that “not one cent needs to be funnelled to our enemies”.

Burchett, who introduced the bill, strongly criticised the US State Department for not preventing the Taliban from accessing US humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. He wrote on his X account, "We have to tear the State Department down and start from scratch. "

If the bill is approved by the Senate, the US State Department will be required to report which countries, in addition to the US, have provided aid to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan since 2021.

The bill also mandates the US State Department to encourage other countries to ensure their aid money does not end up in the hands of the Taliban.

Burchett, Vice-Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News, "It's just obscene that any money would get to the Taliban. We are $35 trillion in debt and do not need to be funding our enemies one bit".

The US government has stated that it has provided over $2 billion in aid to Afghanistan in the past three years, which has been delivered to the Afghan people through aid organisations such as the United Nations.

However, critics, including some Republicans, believe that a portion of this aid ends up in the pockets of the Taliban, whom they consider an anti-American terrorist group.

Earlier, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) had announced that US partner organisations had paid over $10 million in taxes to the Taliban.

The State Department has said that its partner aid organisations have implemented necessary measures to prevent the Taliban from accessing US financial aid.

However, John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, told members of US Congress that there is no guarantee that the Taliban does not benefit from US aid intended for the Afghan people.

Bennett stated that the International Criminal Court is investigating these issues, which could lead to the prosecution of responsible individuals.

During a panel discussion at a Norwegian think tank, Bennett praised the "peaceful and courageous" protests by women against the Taliban's gender policies, noting that such bravery is rarely seen worldwide.

He also mentioned that while street protests have become extremely difficult due to the Taliban's harsh crackdown, protests in private spaces and on social media continue.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Afghanistan highlighted that the human rights situation in the country is deteriorating, with gender-based violence against women on the rise. Bennett noted that the Taliban have increased the enforcement of Hudud and Qisas punishments in public.

According to Bennett, the Taliban are rigorously enforcing dress code laws, primarily targeting women and girls.

In a video published by the Civita think tank on Tuesday, Bennett added that Afghanistan is currently the only country in the world where girls are banned from education beyond the sixth grade and university.

He also pointed out that the prohibition of women's employment makes Afghanistan the only country where women are not allowed to work.

The UN Special Rapporteur emphasised that the Taliban's directive for female UN staff in Afghanistan to stay home and not work was not only shocking, but also violated the UN Charter. He said that the UN needed to confront the Taliban's directive.

Bennett noted that the prohibition of women's employment in other international organisations in Afghanistan is also being enforced, with limited exceptions.

Bennett's criticism of the Taliban's policies towards women comes as the third Doha meeting is set to be held without the presence of women. The UN Secretary-General's special representative confirmed that women would not be present on the first day of the Doha meeting.

This exclusion has sparked widespread criticism, with several critics calling for a boycott of the meeting.

According to the NRF, the first attack occurred in the Khair Khana area of Police District 15, while the second took place in Police District 9.

In a statement published on X social media platform, the NRF stated that at 8:25 PM on Tuesday, their forces attacked a Taliban checkpoint near the power junction in the Khair Khana area, resulting in the death of two Taliban members and the injury of another.

The Front also reported that in the second attack, which occurred simultaneously with the first, their forces targeted a vehicle carrying Taliban intelligence forces behind the customs office in the "Industrial Parks" area, killing four Taliban members and destroying their vehicle.

The NRF's claims regarding Taliban casualties in these attacks have not been independently verified.

Several Afghanistan International readers reported hearing a loud explosion in Kabul on Tuesday evening.

The court also stated that two other individuals in the same province have been punished for theft.

According to the court's statement, these individuals have been sentenced to 39 lashes and three years of imprisonment.

The Taliban claims that the punishment sentences were issued and executed by the court in Parwan.

Earlier, this group announced the punishment of a woman in Herat province for extramarital relations with 39 lashes.