Lagos, The United Nations on June 30 and July 1, 2024, will convene special envoys from around the world to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan at the third meeting of the “Doha Process,” which the Taliban have agreed to attend.
Despite Taliban abuses against women and girls in Afghanistan that have created the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis, the agenda reportedly contains no discussion of women’s rights, and no Afghan women have been invited to participate in the meeting.
This contravenes UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, which seeks to ensure women’s full participation in key international discussions.
Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch said, “With the Taliban’s repression of women and girls in Afghanistan tightening by the day, reports that the UN plans to hold a meeting including the Taliban but without women’s rights on the agenda or Afghan women in the room are shocking.
”Excluding women risks legitimizing the Taliban’s abuses and triggering irreparable harm to the UN’s credibility as an advocate for women’s rights and women’s meaningful participation.”