Widespread reactions have followed a recent report from the United Nations Special Coordinator regarding the situation in Afghanistan. Some political figures and civil organizations have criticized the report for being weak, incomplete, and merely declarative. Feridun Sinirlioğlu, the UN Special Coordinator on Afghanistan, prepared the report in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2679 of 2023. The Secretary-General of the organization delivered the report to the UN Security Council in early November. The report recommends taking practical steps for a national dialogue in Afghanistan and suggests that the integration of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan into the international system is possible if the group agrees to establish an all-inclusive government and adheres to the United Nations roadmap.
Recently, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, presented the coordinator’s report to the United Nations Security Council. In his assessment, he has suggested a roadmap to the Security Council, outlining Afghanistan’s potential integration into the international system. A section of the report declares, “Achieving international commitments, establishing an all-inclusive government, and fostering intra-Afghan dialogue can pave the way for the comprehensive normalization and integration of Afghanistan into the international system.”
The report emphasizes that in the current situation, engagement with the Taliban is not productive and does not address the humanitarian, economic, political, and social needs of the people of Afghanistan. The Secretary-General’s assessment highlights the need for a coherent approach among political actors.
However, this report has faced widespread criticism from civil institutions, human rights activists, and opposition political groups to the Taliban. Some political figures have deemed this report biased and stated that its authors are incapable of understanding the situation in Afghanistan. Women’s rights activists have emphasized that the United Nations, in this report, has, in accordance with a “directive,” behaved compliantly with major powers in interacting with the Taliban and has disregarded the Taliban’s “gender apartheid” against women in the country.
Vida Saghari, a human rights activist, speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, states that when the Doha Agreement was signed between Taliban representatives and the United States, the United Nations Security Council endorsed the agreement by passing a resolution, while women were opposing it. Ms. Saghari adds that Afghan women expressed their concerns and perspectives on engaging with the Taliban by launching protests and writing numerous letters to responsible institutions, especially the United Nations, but received no attention. This human rights activist adds, “In the past two years, we, fifteen million destitute Afghan women, have been condemned to gender apartheid by the Taliban regime, and the United Nations has taken the slightest action to pay attention to these demands in fear of not getting their financial resources channels and communications channels cut by the powerful countries. The Security Council does not initiate any discussion on the pivotal issue of egregious human rights violations in Afghanistan and awaits the decisions of the bloodthirsty rulers in the politically unequal world.”
According to Ms. Saghari’s claim, due to what she considers a history full of conservatism, weakness, and political covert actions by the United Nations in favor of the enemies of freedom and equality, Afghan women have little belief and hope in this organization, and its actions and decisions. According to her, the time for a review of UN policies or its dissolution has arrived.
Ahmad Masoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), has also described this report as incomplete and weak. He emphasized that if this report is approved by the Security Council, the situation in Afghanistan will worsen. According to him, global suggestions for engaging with the Taliban through traditional approaches will not be feasible without transforming current conditions. He underscored that the Taliban have not adhered to any of their agreements and commitments over the past three decades.
However, Rahmatullah Nabil, the former Head of the National Directorate of Security, in response to this report, has stated that the authors of this report, including Sinirlioğlu, Andrew Wilder, and Eric Adelman, are incapable of understanding the current situation in Afghanistan. He added that this report suffers from fundamental shortcomings and the strategic self-indulgence of its writers. According to him, the Taliban are seeking international legitimacy without accepting the demands of the people of Afghanistan and the world. He added that some individuals, for personal gain or external agendas, have been deceived by the Taliban’s reform facade.
This comes as 71 Afghan civil organizations, in an open letter to the UN member countries, have stated that this report has been prepared under the influence of the security interests of powers. In their letter, they state that this report is “under the influence of the security and geopolitical interests of powers, not the needs and tragedies of the people of Afghanistan.”
The authors of this open letter have emphasized that the United Nations report diminishes the importance of human rights and is prepared with a preconceived policy of appeasement towards the Taliban. According to them, fundamental needs and the human rights situation have been overlooked in this report.
In the civil organizations’ letter, it is emphasized that with the military takeover of Afghanistan, the opportunity for Doha talks has been eliminated by the Taliban. Criticizing the UN report, they added that this institution has described the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban as a “political transition.” According to these organizations, the UN Coordinator has not met with the oppressed and victims of Afghanistan, and the opinions of the majority are not reflected in his report.
The authors of this letter, referring to the human rights reports from international organizations and media regarding extrajudicial killings, execution of former security forces, disappearances, torture, and massacres of citizens by the Taliban, have added that none of these widespread human rights violations are reflected in the United Nations report.
The signatories of this letter have stated that the UN Coordinator, in the face of 80 issued decrees by the Taliban violating all women’s human rights and today depriving more than half of Afghanistan’s population of their most basic human rights, has only made scant references to a few isolated cases.
Civil organizations in Afghanistan, in the open letter, have proposed that any interaction with the Taliban should compel the group to adhere to internationally accepted values. According to them, respect for human rights, especially women’s rights, respect for the will and governance of the people, and the establishment of an all-inclusive government based on the collective will and desire of citizens should be prerequisites for engaging with the Taliban.
The signatories of this letter, referencing the creation of a contact group proposed in the United Nations report, have stated that the special envoy and members of the contact group should be individuals with a strong background in human rights, especially women’s rights. They should have no prior interest or connection with Afghanistan and political groups. They have also suggested that the international community should refrain from dividing women and civil society inside and outside Afghanistan. They urge the United Nations to maintain a balanced situation until the establishment of an all-inclusive and legitimate government based on the collective will of the people of Afghanistan.
It is noteworthy that Naseer Ahmad Faiq, the chargé d’affaires of Afghanistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, stated in a released video message that despite considerations about its practical implementation, the UN report presents a comprehensive and inclusive framework.
In response to the UN assessment, the Taliban have stated that their regime considers “religious values and national interests in global interactions” and will not allow anyone to interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.
