Meanwhile, US State Department said US envoys participated in the meeting after receiving assurances from the UN that the discussion would meaningfully address human rights, particularly the plight of women and girls, and that there would be opportunities for engagement with Afghan women and civil society.
Kabul 24: US envoys, including Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West and Special Envoy for Women, Girls, and Human Rights in Afghanistan Rina Amiri, attended the meeting after receiving assurances from the UN that the discussion would meaningfully address human rights, particularly the plight of women and girls, and that there would be opportunities for engagement with Afghan women and civil society.
During the meeting, UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo stated that “Afghanistan cannot return to the international fold, or fully develop economically and socially, if it is deprived of the contributions and potential of half its population.” US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel emphasized that the primary reason private banks have reservations about doing more business in Afghanistan is reputational, rooted in the IEA’s human rights conduct.
He also noted that the Treasury Department has issued a broad general license, providing relief organizations and businesses the leeway they need to support the Afghan people.
Russian envoy to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, reiterated that the world should recognize the fact that IEA is running Afghanistan and deal with them as such.
IEA spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who led the delegation in Doha, stated that the women’s rights issue will be resolved with time, despite the concerns raised by the envoys
