Arriving in Qatar to begin another round of UN-sponsored negotiations on Afghanistan’s integration into the global society are representatives from Afghanistan and around thirty more states. Taliban delegates’ engagement in these negotiations has no precedent.
The Afghan Islamic Emirate’s spokesperson will serve as the representative from Afghanistan. Administration authorities in charge of finance, commerce, and drug control have also been dispatched by the Taliban.
The secretary-general of the United Nations, is not directly engaged. He had been involved during the two former sessions before the Taliban took over the country three years ago. Instead, the undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, will head the entity’s talks in the third round. Along with US envoys for Afghanistan, Qatar’s special envoy to the country will also be in attendance.
According to the United Nations, the discussions are a component of a sustained endeavor that aims to bring about domestic and regional peace for Afghanistan. It is anticipated that the nation would achieve full incorporation into the global system. The agenda asserts that Kabul complies with its international commitments, notably with regard to human rights, especially those for the female society.
Restrictions on the country’s commercial and economic institutions are the primary obstacles to the expansion of the private sector, according to the Taliban, who are keen to talk about these constraints. One of the group’s top concerns is combating drug trafficking.
The release of the nation’s over $7 billion in central bank resources that are held in the United States is one of the Taliban’s objectives. It also intends to talk about giving farmers other means of support in the event that poppy cultivation is outlawed.
Taliban Demands
Afghanistan is the world’s biggest supplier of opium and the country has long struggled with the illicit drug market. Methamphetamine and heroine in huge volumes are also produced inside the country. According to the figures, one in ten persons in Afghanistan consume drugs, totally surpassing 4 million people.
Formal authorization is not a prerequisite for the conference. Still, the organization has embraced the negotiations because they want to save Afghanistan’s beleaguered economic infrastructure. It is anticipated that it would address its drug issue and improve ties with trading partners.
The initial meeting convened in Qatari capital last year was declined by the Taliban. The entity claims that it was not receiving its bids, which included acknowledging the emirate as the only legitimate representation of Afghanistan.
The Taliban claimed that they were officially invited too late for them to make it to the next conference, which was held in earlier this year. At the same time, UN Secretary-General said the Taliban had imposed intolerable requirements on its involvement. Requests to keep representatives of Afghan civic society out of the negotiations are among the requirements.
A United Nations disputed selection of representative for the country has been another cause of controversy. Guterres nominated the envoy late last year, and it was then confirmed by the UNSC and affirmed during the session five months ago.
In the nation to which they are assigned, a UN special representatives oversee UN operations and represents the secretary-general politically. The topic of designating a special representative for Afghanistan, nevertheless, is not included on the scheduled topics for the forthcoming conference in Qatar.
