KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo will visit Afghanistan later this month, the Taliban-run Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.
The ministry said in a statement posted on X that Georgette Gagnon, acting head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), informed Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi of the planned trip during a meeting in Kabul and requested Taliban cooperation to facilitate it.
No exact dates or further details were provided, and the UN has not publicly commented on the visit.
The trip would be DiCarlo’s second to Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Her first visit, in May 2024, included discussions with Taliban officials, members of the diplomatic community, and Afghan civil society representatives. During that trip, she extended an invitation to the Taliban to attend the third UN-hosted Doha meeting on Afghanistan, held in July 2024.
DiCarlo oversees the Doha process, a UN initiative launched by Secretary-General António Guterres in May 2023 to promote more coherent, coordinated, and structured international engagement with Taliban authorities. The process seeks to build consensus among member states, regional actors, and other stakeholders on key issues, including human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls, inclusive governance, counter-terrorism, and counter-narcotics efforts.
Three Doha meetings have been held since the process began. The Taliban were not invited to the first round and declined to participate in the second, which focused on human rights, women’s rights, and humanitarian assistance. The third meeting included a Taliban delegation alongside special envoys from 20 countries but excluded Afghan women and civil society groups. It focused on counter-narcotics and private sector development and led to the establishment of two dedicated working groups.
According to the Taliban foreign ministry, Muttaqi told Gagnon on Tuesday that the working groups had shown positive progress but criticized the UN for failing to provide viable alternative livelihoods for poppy farmers and resolving Afghanistan’s banking challenges. Gagnon committed to cooperation on both matters, the statement said.
DiCarlo’s visit occurs as the Taliban administration continues to lack formal recognition from most countries, with many senior leaders subject to UN sanctions and travel bans. UN efforts to facilitate broader engagement with the group have so far yielded limited results.
