A U.N. official said Friday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet with special envoys on Afghanistan in Doha next week without the Taliban administration.
“The Secretary-General has not extended an invitation to the de facto authorities,” said U.N. spokeswoman Stephane Dujarric.
After the deputy U.N. chief’s comments confused last week, the U.N. had to clarify that the meeting would not discuss international recognition of the Taliban.
“The international engagement around common objectives for a durable way forward on… Afghanistan,” Dujarric added, will be the focus of the Qatar meeting on Monday and Tuesday.
Last week, Guterres’ deputy, Amina Mohammed, said the Doha summit “could find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition.”
When 20 years, the Taliban took control in August 2021 when U.S.-led forces withdrew.
The 193-member U.N. General Assembly postponed recognizing the Afghan Taliban for a second time in December by permitting them to send a U.N. envoy to New York.
On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council unanimously criticized a Taliban administration restriction on Afghan women working for the U.N. in Afghanistan. It urged Taliban officials to “swiftly reverse” a crackdown on women and girls.
According to its rigid interpretation of Islamic law, the Taliban supports women’s rights. However, the Taliban called female assistance workers an “internal issue.”
