KABUL (Agencies): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has not invited the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to a meeting that he is convening with special envoys on Afghanistan from various countries in Doha next week, a UN spokesperson said.
“The Secretary-General has not extended an invitation to the de facto authorities,” said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Reuters reported.
Last week the United Nations had to stress that the meeting will not focus on the possible international recognition of the IEA after comments by the deputy UN chief sparked concern and confusion.
The gathering in Qatar on Monday and Tuesday is instead intended to focus on reinvigorating “the international engagement around common objectives for a durable way forward on … Afghanistan,” Dujarric has said.
Guterres’ deputy, Amina Mohammed, had suggested last week that the meeting in Doha “could find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition.”
The IEA seized power in August 2021 as US-led forces withdrew following 20 years of war.
In December, the 193-member UN General Assembly approved postponing, for the second time, a decision on whether to recognize the IEA by allowing them to send a United Nations ambassador to New York.
The UN Security Council unanimously condemned on Thursday an IEA ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations in Afghanistan and called on IEA leaders to “swiftly reverse” the decision.
The IEA says it respects women’s rights in accordance with Sharia law. The Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the decision on Afghan women working for UN is an “internal social matter.”
IEA not invited to UN Doha meeting on Afghanistan, says UN
