RASC News Agency: Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and host of the third Doha meeting on Afghanistan, has described the commencement of the meeting as productive. Ms. DiCarlo, sharing images from her meetings on the first day of the session, wrote on Twitter: “This is the first time such a broad cross-section of the international community and the Taliban are meeting together.”
She added: “Looking forward to principled engagement to help the people of Afghanistan in many areas.” Her remarks come at a time when the third Doha meeting has been widely boycotted by many Afghanistani women due to the absence of female representatives, discussions on women’s rights, and civil society representatives from the agenda. Some of these women have rejected the UN’s invitation to participate in the meeting, arguing that it should be boycotted as it equates to negotiating with terrorists.
Over the past few days, since the commencement of the third Doha meeting on Afghanistan, numerous Afghanistani women have staged widespread protests worldwide against the gathering. In their statements, resolutions, and declarations, these protesting women have labeled the Doha meeting as “the world’s deal with the Taliban” and have boycotted it.
Previously, invitees such as Zubaida Akbar, Nabila Mosleh, and Habiba Sarabi boycotted the Doha meeting, stating that any meeting where women are marginalized is not in the best interest of their country. Ms. DiCarlo also expressed gratitude to Qatar as the host nation for supporting this meeting in her message.
It is worth noting that today marks the second day of this meeting, hosted by the United Nations at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Doha.
