U.S. officials has urged the Taliban to reverse policies responsible for the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls, during talks in Doha, Qatar, the State Department said on July 31.
The U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West, along with Rina Amiri, the special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights, and the chief of the Doha-based U.S. Mission to Afghanistan, Karen Decker, led the U.S. delegation to talks held on July 30-31 with Taliban representatives and other Afghan government officials.
“U.S. officials identified areas for confidence building in support of the Afghan people,” the State Department said in a statement.
At the same time the delegation expressed “deep concern regarding the humanitarian crisis and the need to continue to support aid organizations and UN bodies delivering assistance consistent with humanitarian principles.”
WATCH: Afghan women demonstrated in Kabul on July 19 to demand the Taliban authorities back down from their decree ordering the closure of all beauty salons. The women say the shutdown would leave their families with no income.
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Taliban Violently Disperses Women's Protest Against Ban On Beauty Salons
U.S. officials also expressed grave concern regarding detentions, media crackdowns, and limits on religious practice, while backing the Afghan people’s demands for their rights to be respected and for their voices to shape the future of the country, the statement said.
They also pressed for the immediate and unconditional release of detained U.S. citizens, noting that these detentions were a significant obstacle to positive engagement.
The Taliban seized power in August 2021, bringing back the hard-line movement nearly 20 years after it was toppled by the U.S. invasion following the attacks of September 11, 2001. The international community has not recognized the Taliban-led government and has limited engagement with its leaders.
A major impediment has been the rights of women and girls, which Taliban leaders have severely restricted, particularly in the areas of education and employment, despite initial pledges to protect them.
The U.S. officials met representatives of the Afghan Central Bank and Afghan Ministry of Finance in Doha to discuss the state of the Afghan economy and the challenges that the banking sector faces.
The U.S. officials noted recent data indicating declining inflation and growth in trade in 2023 and voiced openness to a technical dialogue regarding economic stabilization issues. They also noted the Taliban’s continuing commitment to not allow the territory of Afghanistan to be used by anyone to threaten the United States and its allies.
The State Department said the American delegation acknowledged that there has been a decrease in large-scale terrorist attacks against Afghan civilians and that there have been reports indicating that the Taliban’s ban on opium poppy cultivation resulted in a significant decrease in cultivation during the most recent growing season.
The U.S. officials, however, registered serious concerns regarding the continuing trafficking and sale of processed opiates and synthetic drugs, even as they voiced openness to continue dialogue on counter-narcotics.
With reporting by Reuters