Geneva: A Taliban delegation has committed to ensuring protection for aid and health workers, including female staff, and enabling education in Afghanistan, the NGO hosting them for talks in Geneva said on Friday.
The delegation of around 10 Taliban members led by Health Minister Qalander Ebad has been meeting with officials, international organisations and NGOs in the Swiss city since Monday.
The Geneva Call foundation, which works to protect civilians during conflict and which invited the delegation to Geneva, said that a conference aimed at discussing ways to enhance unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance in crisis-torn Afghanistan had concluded with a range of commitments.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) had signed a conference statement vowing to “facilitate principled humanitarian action in Afghanistan and to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers and aid”, Geneva Call said in a statement.
The delegation had also committed to “promote the full respect and protection of health care facilities, transports and staff, including female workers”, it said.
And the group had agreed to cooperate on landmine clearance, stockpile destruction and victim assistance, to promote the protection of environmental and cultural heritage, and “to protect all Afghans, including by providing, protecting and facilitating the continuation of their education”, it added.
Geneva Call did not immediately publish the full conference statement nor provide details on whether any concrete actions or follow-up had been committed to.
But the NGO said it represented “a step towards enhanced protection of civilians in Afghanistan, acknowledging that needs are dire and that increased support and collaboration is needed to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan population”.
Since the Taliban took power in Kabul in August 2021, after the departure of American and other international forces, Afghanistan has been pushed to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe, with more than half the country at risk of going hungry.
The UN has been advocating for months for an easing of the sanctions imposed on Kabul since August 2021 to avoid the collapse of the country.
The Taliban delegation issued its own statement on Thursday on the aid issue demanding direct talks with the international community, which does not officially recognise its rule.
That statement “calls on the international community to move forward with the IEA on the basis of transparency and accountability, and to respond to the need for humanitarian assistance”.
So far no country has recognised the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. Swiss authorities have stressed that the presence of the delegation in the wealthy Alpine nation in no way constitutes recognition.
The international community has been particularly shocked by the severe restrictions the Taliban has imposed on women and girls, especially when it comes to work and education, despite pledging a softer rule compared with their first stint in power in the 1990s.
nl/vog/har