The United States and Europe together urged the Taliban (under UN sanctions over terrorist activities) to prevent further increase in human rights violations in Afghanistan and address the humanitarian crisis in the country while praising the Afghan interim government's commitments to ensure women's rights during the Oslo talks, a joint statement published on Thursday said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2022) The United States and Europe together urged the Taliban (under UN sanctions over terrorist activities) to prevent further increase in human rights violations in Afghanistan and address the humanitarian crisis in the country while praising the Afghan interim government's commitments to ensure women's rights during the Oslo talks, a joint statement published on Thursday said.
Special representatives and envoys of the US, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom met to discuss the situation in Afghanistan in Oslo on Monday. The Taliban representatives and civil society actors were present at some sessions of the meeting. The participants said that the Taliban's appearance to these sessions in no way implies official recognition of the Afghan interim government by the EU or US.
"(Envoys and representatives) urged the Taliban to do more to stop the alarming increase of human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions (to include recent detentions of women's rights activists), forced disappearances, media crackdowns, extra-judicial killings, torture and prohibitions on women and girls' education, employment and freedom to travel without a male escort," the statement, published on the Norwegian government's website, said.
Parties addressed the humanitarian crisis in the country and expressed the importance of removing conditions and obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid. The sides said that "an inclusive and representative political system" in Afghanistan is required for the sake of peace and stability.
Participants welcomed the Taliban's "public pledges" on women's rights, including those that girls and women will be allowed to start education at schools and universities in March, and will be allowed to work.
The US and Europe reaffirmed their expectations that the Taliban will continue tackling terrorism and drug trafficking, and expressed readiness to provide assistance in restoring Afghan economy.
In August 2021, the Taliban took over Afghanistan as the United States was withdrawing troops after 20-year presence in the country. In September, the Taliban established an interim government led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, the former deputy foreign minister and deputy prime minister of Afghanistan in the First Taliban government.
