Heather Barr, Human Rights Watch’s deputy director for women’s rights, once again criticized the UN’s exclusion of Afghan women from the Doha talks.
She stated that the UN takes a pleading approach with the Taliban but responds negatively to Afghan women’s requests.
On Thursday, June 27th, Barr tweeted that the UN has taken a negative approach towards defenders of Afghan women’s rights.
According to Barr, the UN told Afghan women defenders, “You can’t come to this [third round of Doha talks]. The next session doesn’t look good either. We’re discussing important issues, not women’s issues.”
The third round of Doha talks, hosted by Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Deputy Secretary-General, will begin on Jun 30th and July 1st in Doha.
The UN has turned a blind eye to Afghan women representatives’ presence and discussions on women’s rights and human rights in the main session to lure the Taliban to the talks.
The UN announced it would meet with some representatives of the Afghan civil society, including women representatives, on the second day of the talks.
This comes amid dire human rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in the country, restricting women’s education and employment despite massive criticism by national and international organizations.
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