UAE envoy says UN to hold meeting on situation in Afghanistan

Kabul: Lana Nusseibeh, the United Arab Emirates’ permanent representative to the United Nations, said they would hold a comprehensive meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on June 21, the Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported. She said that the cooperation of Security Council members on the Afghan issue should be maintained.

According to Khaama Press, Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh and the President of the Security Council said: “We will hold a comprehensive meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on June 21.” Nusseibeh further said: “Our focus will be on the situation in Afghanistan, Women’s rights in particular, and all members of the Security Council agree on that.”

On Thursday, UAE special envoy Lana Nusseibeh said the UN Security Council will continue to work on Afghan issues, especially women’s rights, Khaama Press reported.

UAE Ambassador Fraidoon Oglu said that the United Nations Special Coordinator for Afghanistan will submit a comprehensive report on the situation in Afghanistan to the Security Council in November this year. It is worth noting that the United Arab Emirates has held the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for a month. Several U.S. senators have introduced a bill to sanction the Taliban in response to human rights abuses in Afghanistan, Khaama Press quoted Fox News as saying.

According to the report, since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the organization has systematically suppressed women, youth and minorities.

Since universities and schools stopped accepting female students, thousands of women have been confined to their homes, and the jobs women and girls can hold in local and international NGOs have been limited. Meanwhile, as the Taliban continue to beg for recognition and foreign help, they have escalated their crackdown on Afghan women and girls, Human Rights Watch said, according to Khaama Press.

“The Taliban are unwilling to engage in meaningful talks,” Human Rights Watch’s deputy director for women’s rights tweeted. Barr tweeted that she didn’t think the meeting showed the Taliban’s willingness to engage with the international community, according to Khaama Press. .

She believes the topic has only been highlighted during talks between senior Qatari officials and Hebatullah Akhundzada. Earlier, a Taliban spokesman said Mullah Hassan Ahund had asked Qatari authorities to play an important role in building trust between Afghanistan and the international community during a meeting with his Qatari counterpart, the Afghan News Agency reported. Despite Qatar’s ties to the Taliban, Doha has criticized the Taliban’s gender policies against women.