DOHA: On Sunday, Qatar will host a meeting of the special envoys on Afghanistan. The UN Secretary General’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said that in the Doha meeting, the voices of Afghan women will be heard very loud and clear.

Dujarric said that envoys will meet with the “Taliban,” civil society and women’s groups, although in Saturday, although in a statement on Saturday the Islamic Emirate said it would not attend unless its conditions were met. 

“The centre point of our concern and of our work in Afghanistan has been the restoration of the dignity, the human rights of women and girls. This meeting will be a meeting of envoys on Afghanistan.  So, both from regional organizations, from Member States — there will be a meeting with the Taliban, but there will also be a meeting of envoys with civil society, including women’s groups, because it’s important that the voices of Afghan women be heard very loud and clear,” Dujarric added.

Ahead of the upcoming UN-convened meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan taking place in Doha on February 18 and 19, Deprose Muchena, Senior Director at Amnesty International, said that the Doha meeting is a significant opportunity for a unified and concerted action to protect the rights of all Afghan people.

“The upcoming Doha meeting is a significant opportunity for a unified and concerted action to protect the rights of all Afghan people, particularly the rights of women and girls. The culture of impunity that enables the Taliban’s ongoing grave human rights violations needs to be addressed urgently,” Muchena said.

“Afghan people, especially women and girls, expect the Doha meeting to take practical steps to ensure their security and rights,” Lima Shirzai, a women’s rights activist.

Meanwhile, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security said in a statement: “As the special envoys navigate how to engage with Afghanistan, their approach must also incorporate the perspectives of Afghan women and girls.”

“If the Independent Assessment is meant to serve as the roadmap for the international community’s strategy towards Afghanistan, then its recommendations cannot afford to forsake the status of half of the population. As the special envoys navigate how to engage with Afghanistan, their approach must also incorporate the perspectives of Afghan women and girls,” the statement reads.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan said in a statement that Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan will lead the Pakistani delegation at the Meeting of the Special Envoys on Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s MOFA added: “Pakistan’s participation in the meeting is part of our efforts to actively engage with the international community, including the United Nations, to strengthen the efforts for lasting peace and prosperity in Afghanistan.”

“International institutions, including the UN and other countries, are interested in finding solutions to Afghanistan’s economic, political and social problems, which they can address by starting political and diplomatic dialogues between Afghans,” said Najib Rahman Shamal, a political analyst.

Earlier, TOLOnews has seen a list showing that representatives from Russia, China, Iran, India, Japan, Tajikistan, US, France, Germany, and the EU will take part in the Doha meeting.

The Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Emirate in a statement said the participation of the Islamic Emirate in the Doha meeting would be “unbeneficial.”

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believed that the meeting of Special Envoys for Afghanistan being convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in the capital of Qatar, Doha, was a good opportunity to hold frank and productive dialogue on issues of disagreement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified to the UN that if the Islamic Emirate is to participate as the sole official representative of Afghanistan and if there exists an opportunity to hold frank talks between the Afghan delegation and the UN about all issues on a very senior level, then participation would be beneficial. Else, ineffective participation by the Emirate due to non-progress in this area was deemed unbeneficial,” the statement reads.