RASC News Agency: Rosemary DiCarlo, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, highlighted that attendees at the third Doha summit voiced profound concerns over the draconian restrictions imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan. In a post-summit press briefing, DiCarlo expressed her dismay over the exclusion of women and civil society activists from the discussions, asserting, “I am cognizant of the criticisms surrounding the third Doha summit, but the concerns and viewpoints of Afghanistani women and civil society were paramount to us.”
She lamented the absence of several Afghanistani women and civil society representatives from the session with special envoys, noting that a separate assembly with these stakeholders was slated for Tuesday. During the briefing, DiCarlo stated, “I respect their decision not to attend, yet I am disheartened by their absence, as we had included extraordinary individuals on our list.”
The UN official characterized the Doha summits as integral to a protracted process. “This is a process. We are now entrenched in a long-term initiative. It will not satisfy everyone, but our commitment to serving the Afghanistani people remains unwavering.” DiCarlo noted that the Taliban broached the topic of sanctions during the meeting, but the participants refrained from elaborating, emphasizing, “Sanctions target individuals, not the nation.”
The third round of the two-day Doha summit, which commenced on Sunday afternoon, July 1, included representatives from approximately 30 countries and organizations. Despite this, the summit encountered significant backlash from human rights advocates and women’s rights activists for marginalizing human rights and women’s issues in its primary agenda.
