RASC News Agency: Vedant Patel, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated that the United Nations had guaranteed the participation of Afghanistani women and civil society in the third Doha meeting. On Tuesday, July 2, Patel addressed a press conference, explaining that U.S. special representatives for Afghanistan agreed to participate in the Doha meeting on the condition that women’s rights would be a significant part of the discussions.
He added, “We committed to participating in this meeting only after receiving assurances from the UN that the discussion would meaningfully address human rights issues, particularly the challenges faced by women and girls.” Although Afghanistani women were absent from the main two-day Doha meeting, Rina Amiri, the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistani Women, and Tom West, the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, attended the third round of talks in Doha.
Reports suggest that following the conclusion of the two-day meeting with the Taliban, the UN held several separate closed-door sessions with Afghanistani women and civil society representatives. However, it remains unclear who specifically represented Afghanistani women and civil society in these sessions. The exclusion of women from the main agenda of the third Doha meeting sparked sharp criticism from women’s rights activists and human rights advocates. Additionally, human rights issues were not prominently featured in the meeting’s agenda.
Afghanistani women condemned the meeting as lacking legitimacy, comparing it to negotiating with terrorists. Protests against the meeting were also held by Afghanistani women in Pakistan and Canada.
