Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under Secretary-General, stated on Wednesday during a meeting with Afghanistan International and four other news agencies that the third Doha meeting will not discuss recognising the Taliban government.
Responding to criticisms about the exclusion of Afghan women and civil society, she said, "This is not an intra-Afghan meeting."
DiCarlo emphasised, "I want to stress that the Doha meeting is a process. We have been heavily criticised for not including Afghan women and civil society in the discussions. I must clarify that this is not an intra-Afghan dialogue."
She added, "I hope we will reach that point someday, but we are not there yet."
The Under Secretary-General is scheduled to meet with Afghan women and civil society representatives on the second day of the Doha meeting on July 1.
Representatives from 25 countries have been invited to this meeting. DiCarlo noted that engaging with the Taliban does not equate to recognition.
"This is not a recognition meeting. This meeting will not lead to the recognition of the Taliban... Engaging does not mean recognising. This meeting is not about the Taliban; it is about Afghanistan and its people."
The Taliban had stipulated the exclusion of civil society and women's representatives as a condition for their participation in the Doha meeting, which was accepted by the UN.
DiCarlo mentioned that the Taliban had requested a meeting with António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General.
She explained that since she is chairing the meeting, it will not be possible for the Taliban delegation to meet with the UN Secretary-General in Doha.
DiCarlo emphasised that the goal of the Doha meeting is to commit the Taliban to international laws and the UN Charter. She expressed hope that the UN will achieve this step by step.
