UN official praises Qatar for hosting Afghan talks

The United Nations Undersecretary General Rosemary DiCarlo has expressed 'deep appreciation' to the Government of Qatar for hosting the third meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan in Doha.

Addressing a press conference Monday, after the conclusion of the meeting, she stressed there is a need to go ahead for such talks and to push forward women's rights in Afghanistan and to engage the civil society groups to improve the human rights situation.

The UN official pointed out that depriving women of the right to education and work would ultimately drag back the economic development in Afghanistan and eventually negatively impact the lives of its people.

"This is the third Doha meeting, but it is also a first. Indeed, this is the first time such a broad cross section of the international community and the de facto authorities have had the opportunity to hold such detailed discussions."

She said that a lot of related questions on the Afghan issue were discussed, stressing the pressing need to find a step for step solution to the pending issues that affect the life of people.

"These discussions were frank and, I believe, useful. They were based on priority areas listed in the independent assessment the UN Security Council recognised last November. That assessment called for a more structured process, with clear conditions and expectations for all sides," she said.

Rosemary DiCarlo noted that that such a process to find a step by step approach is still at the beginning and there is a need for these discussions and negotiations to go on to address the pressing issues such as security and human rights. It is a people-centered approach aimed at easing the suffering of people and to arrive at a society that functions with its basic services running.

"At the opening (of the meeting) on Sunday the special envoys and the de facto authorities aired their expectations. Today we looked at the private sector and counter-narcotics. The Afghan private sector faces enormous obstacles to its development and growth, which adversely affects the economy and livelihoods.

"Afghanistan also needs support in building on progress made in curbing drug production. Running through all the discussions was the deep international concern - from special envoys and from me - about the ongoing and serious restrictions on women and girls. Afghanistan cannot return to the international fold, or fully develop economically and socially, if it is deprived of the contributions and potential of half its population".

"We also discussed the need for more inclusive governance and respect for the rights of minorities," she stressed.

The UN official pointed out that it is not for the UN as an organisation to recognise or not recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan, it is a decision that is up to the UN member states to take.

"We faced a very tough, maybe impossible choice in organising this meeting. We have a mandate to support this process. Our brief was to bring the de facto authorities and the special envoys together for direct talks. Regrettably, the de facto authorities will not sit across the table with Afghan civil society in this format. But they heard very clearly the need to include women and civil society in all aspects of public life. There was broad agreement on the need to chart a clear way forward. And we at the UN are committed to continue to facilitate this process."

"This is part of a process. And while women and civil society were not sitting across the table from the de facto authorities the last two days, they made their voices heard. Civil society has a rightful role to play in shaping Afghanistan’s future."

Rosemary DiCarlo confirmed that it has been agreed to continue this process and consider setting up working groups for the related issues.