The third session of the Doha Meetings hosted and managed by the United Nations, is scheduled for June 30th and July 1st. The primary agenda in the initial Doha meetings was the international community’s engagement with the Taliban. This was crucial due to the Taliban’s acquisition of power through illegitimate and unlawful means, their status as a terrorist group, and numerous egregious human rights violations. Any tolerance towards such a regime poses significant risks, as it encourages other terrorist groups and emboldens the Taliban to commit further crimes, as witnessed in recent years.
However, the second Doha Meeting diverged with a different important agenda, focusing on a unified approach towards the Taliban, the appointment of a UN special envoy for Afghanistan, the formation of an all-inclusive government, and advancements in human rights, especially women’s rights. The upcoming third meeting, though, is set to have a “Taliban-centric” agenda, meaning critical national issues will be sidelined in favor of Taliban interests.
Hence, it can be said that this meeting is being held for the Taliban, not for Afghanistan. The Taliban have stipulated that their participation depends on removing topics such as human rights, education and employment for women, and the formation of an all-inclusive government from the agenda. Instead, they focus on combating narcotics, security, and economic issues. Therefore, the third Doha Meeting will proceed with an agenda aligning with Taliban preferences.
It is undeniable that the Taliban are a part of Afghanistan’s reality, but they do not represent the entirety of it. Political entities opposing this group, advocating for democratic governance and respect for human rights and freedoms, are another significant part of Afghanistan’s reality. Yet, these voices have been disregarded in the successive Doha meetings initiated by the United Nations.
Another facet of this reality includes those who participated in the fourth round of Vienna talks in Austria. Additionally, Afghanistan’s civil society, despite enduring numerous challenges along the way, has become an integral and undeniable part of Afghan society. Most importantly, Afghan women outnumber Taliban members several times over, yet they were overlooked in the third Doha Meeting, despite being invited to the second Doha Meeting alongside civil society representatives.
Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UNAMA, made a shameful defense for excluding women from the Doha Meetings, stating at a press conference in New York that the Taliban emerged from the mountains and battlefields, and transforming them into negotiators sitting around a table like others, not an easy task. With these remarks, she justified the exclusion of women from the Doha Meetings.
The remarks of the UNAMA chief imply that the Taliban are fundamentally different from other human societies, and thus confronting this group should be contrary to usual norms and extraordinary. The approach chosen by the United Nations in this regard is to become Taliban-esque, not to socialize the Taliban. If, as Otunbayeva stated, the Taliban have come down from the mountains and cannot sit around a table and talk like other humans, then perhaps the correct approach is for them to integrate into society, rather than for the global community and the United Nations to behave like the Taliban. The exclusion of women and civil society from the Doha Meetings by the United Nations reflects a Taliban-like behavior.
After the second Doha meeting, the UN Secretary-General mentioned efforts to involve the Taliban in future sessions. Initially not invited to the first Doha meeting, the Taliban were invited to the second but chose not to participate. They set two prerequisites for their participation in the second Doha meeting: a meeting between Amir Khan Muttaqi and Antonio Guterres and the Taliban being the sole representatives of Afghanistan at the meeting. Guterres declined to meet Muttaqi as the Taliban regime has yet to be recognized, and representatives of Afghan women and civil society were also invited to the meeting but disregarded the Taliban’s conditions. Following this, serious efforts began by the United Nations to secure the Taliban’s consent to participate in the third session. The UN Deputy Secretary-General visited Kabul and met with various Taliban officials to gain their approval for participating in the third session. Qatar’s Deputy Foreign Minister, as the facilitator of these meetings, also traveled to Kabul to meet with Taliban leaders to secure their participation. Otunbayeva also met with Taliban officials in her attempt to achieve this goal. However, the Taliban have set forth their own six conditions: the permanent transfer of Afghanistan’s UN seat to them, no appointment of a UN special representative for Afghanistan, the exclusion of women and civil society representatives from the session, focusing the agenda on economics, drug control, and security, the removal of human rights, education and employment for women, and the formation of a comprehensive government from the agenda, and finally coordinating with the Taliban on the agenda of the Doha III session. So far, it seems that the only condition not accepted by the UN from the Taliban’s six conditions is the transfer of Afghanistan’s seat at the UN to this group. The UN Secretary-General has accepted all other Taliban conditions, and the Taliban have also said they will participate in this session
Since the third Doha meeting is scheduled to focus on economic issues, combating narcotics, and the private sector, it implies that the agenda is Taliban-oriented and serves their interests. Zakir Jalali, head of the third office of the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote on his X Network account that the agenda of the third Doha meeting will include issues related to the private sector, financial and banking matters, and combating narcotics as alternative livelihoods. This agenda closely resembles the Taliban’s proposals for the topics discussed at the third Doha meeting, given that issues concerning women, human rights, and comprehensive governance have been eliminated.
Under Taliban rule, terrorist activities and economic problems have increased, indicating that the sustainability of such governance leads to further terrorist activities and economic problems. On the other hand, the Taliban do not accept comprehensive governance and do not consider it negotiable, which is why they are unwilling to engage with their opponents. They do not consider important issues such as human rights as topics for discussion. These are critical issues in Afghanistan. If all problems are resolved but the political dilemma of the country persists, it means no steps have been taken because other actions are destroyed by minor political conflicts and all efforts are in vain.
The third Doha meeting, like previous sessions, especially the second one, is unlikely to have much impact on the situation. The trend towards increased interaction with the Taliban will continue, further sidelining the people of Afghanistan and the Taliban’s opponents. However, the political problem in Afghanistan will not be resolved because the Taliban, as a party to Afghanistan’s issue, does not recognize other parties, including the Afghan people, and the United Nations accommodates the demands of this group. Therefore, as long as the political issue in Afghanistan is not fully discussed and negotiated in all its aspects, it remains unsolvable.
If Afghanistan’s issue could be resolved solely with the Taliban, given their current dominance over the country, they would be a legitimate member of the international community. However, this is not the case. They have not made peace with themselves, the people of Afghanistan, or the global community. Despite low expectations, this meeting provides ample opportunities for the Taliban and ultimately frames it as “for the Taliban.” Meeting diplomats from various countries in Doha enhances their prestige and signals their precondition acceptance by the United Nations, implying that the world is forced into engaging with this group and they are effectively given a free hand to commit crimes.
You can read the Persian version of this analysis here:
دوحه سوم؛ نشستی برای طالبان با آجندای غیرضروری | روزنامه ۸صبح