The Taliban has not been invited to a meeting of special representatives of countries hosted by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on 1st and 2nd May in Doha, Qatar.
Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, told Reuters on Friday that “The Secretary-General has not extended an invitation to the de facto authorities.”
The closed-door meeting in Doha, Stephane Dujarric said aimed to focus “”the international engagement around common objectives for a durable way forward on … Afghanistan.”
On Thursday, the UN Security Council unanimously condemned the Taliban’s ban on women working for the UN in Afghanistan and called on the group to “swiftly reverse” its restrictions.
But the Taliban, on Friday, rejected the Security Council’s demand, saying that restrictions on women were “an internal social matter of Afghanistan that does not impact outside states.”
The Doha meeting has already proven controversial, with many expressing concerns about the meeting becoming the venue to discuss the recognition of the Taliban government.
