Against the background of a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, the Taliban have arrived in Oslo for official talks with Western representatives. At the start, the delegation led by Foreign Minister Amir Chan Muttaki met with representatives of Afghan civil society.
During the first day, the Taliban delegation was to meet Afghan women’s rights activists and journalists, among others. These talks take place behind closed doors. According to the Norwegian government, representatives from the USA and several European countries, including Germany and France, will also take part in the official political talks on Monday and Tuesday. These are the first official talks between representatives of the West and the internationally unrecognized Taliban government on European soil.
Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan
The focus is on the human rights situation and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took power in August after 20 years of fighting against the US-backed and NATO-backed government, the emergency situation in Afghanistan has escalated massively. According to the United Nations, millions of people in the country are at risk of starvation.
discussions controversial
Dealing with the humanitarian situation is highly controversial because of the human rights violations by the radical Islamic Taliban. In December, the UN Security Council unanimously decided to allow humanitarian aid for Afghanistan. However, the aid should not fall directly into the hands of the Islamists. So far, no country has officially recognized the Taliban government.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated on Friday that the people of Afghanistan should not be punished as a whole for the misconduct of the “de facto authorities”. “We cannot continue disbursing aid bypassing the Taliban,” former UN envoy to the Hindu Kush, Kai Eide, told AFP. The government there has to be involved in one way or another.
Not everyone sees it that way. Former Afghan Mines and Petroleum Minister Nargis Nehan, who now lives in Norway, declined to attend the Oslo talks. She fears that this will “normalize” and “strengthen” the Taliban, she told AFP. “What guarantee is there this time that they will keep their promises?”
Gender apartheid in Afghanistan
During the Islamists’ first rule in the 1990s, women in Afghanistan were all but banned from public life. The Taliban have now announced, among other things, that they will respect the rights of women to work and education. However, reports of arrests of activists, the repression of protests and discriminatory rules against women cast doubt on this.
“The Taliban have effectively instituted gender apartheid,” said Davood Moradian, head of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies, now based outside Afghanistan. Norway is jeopardizing its reputation as a defender of women’s rights by initiating talks.
The talks in Oslo meant “no legitimation or recognition of the Taliban,” stressed Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt before the meeting began. “But we have to talk to the authorities who de facto rule the country. We must not allow the political situation to turn into an even worse humanitarian catastrophe.” For their part, the Taliban had expressed hope for improved relations with the West before the talks began.
Source From: Stern
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