• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Thursday, June 30, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World Middle East

Taliban Vows in Geneva Talks to Protect Aid Workers: NGO

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
02/11/22
in Middle East, World
Afghanistan

A Taliban fighter shopping at a grocery store in Kabul, December 9, 2021 Photo: Wakil Kohsar/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

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 organizations and NGOs in the Swiss city since Monday. 

The Geneva Call foundation works to protect civilians during conflict and invited the delegation to Geneva to discuss ways to enhance unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance in crisis-torn Afghanistan.

The meetings concluded with a range of commitments, the foundation said.

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.

The ministers also pledged “to protect all Afghans, including by providing, protecting and facilitating the continuation of their education”, it added.

Call for direct talks

The full conference statement, published by Geneva Call, also included a call from the Taliban for direct talks with the international community, which does not officially recognize its rule.

The IEA delegations invited the international community “to engage with us in a transparent and accountable manner and in line with IEA policies and values, as well as to adopt a needs-based approach to humanitarian assistance,” the statement said.

It also urged support for the humanitarian organizations to ensure aid reaches those in need in Afghanistan in a “non-political, impartial and independent manner, without distinction”.

And it called on aid agencies to provide aid and advocate for keeping borders open, and “assist in our efforts to create safe corridors for humanitarian assistance, convoys, cargos and workers”.

Geneva Call said the statement represented “a step towards enhanced protection of civilians in Afghanistan,” although it did not provide details on commitments to concrete action or follow-up.

Since the Taliban took power in Kabul in August 2021, after international forces withdrew, 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.

So far no country has recognized 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 on their ability to work and education.

The restrictions come despite the Taliban previously pledging a softer rule than their first stint in power in the 1990s.

Abandoning Afghanistan Is Simply Unacceptable
ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Afghan refugees
Featured

Pakistani Migrants in Afghanistan Caught in Quake No-Man’s Land

by Staff Writer
June 27, 2022
Afghan women
Middle East

Afghan Women Activists Say They Feel Betrayed by Oslo Talks

by Staff Writer
January 24, 2022
Afghan women protest
Middle East

Afghan Women Protest Against Taliban Killings of Ex-Soldiers

by Staff Writer
December 28, 2021
Afghanistan drone strike
National

No US Troops to Be Punished Over Deadly Kabul Drone Strike

by Staff Writer
December 14, 2021
Afghanistan
World

World Bank Says Donors Approve Release of $280 Mn for Afghanistan

by Staff Writer
December 10, 2021
Afghan refugees
Refugees

Afghan Refugee Sets Himself on Fire in Indonesia

by Staff Writer
November 30, 2021
Next Post
Navi Pillay

NGO Demands UN Israel-Palestinian Investigator Resign

Sandy Hook victims

Sandy Hook Families Settle With Gunmaker Remington Over School Massacre

Recommended

Mexico murdered journalists

Journalist Murdered in Mexico, 12th This Year

June 29, 2022
Spain migrants

Spain Prosecutor Opens Probe Into Melilla Migrant Deaths

June 28, 2022
Afghan refugees

Pakistani Migrants in Afghanistan Caught in Quake No-Man’s Land

June 27, 2022
Joe Biden climate summit

Biden Calls Clean Energy Matter of National Security in Face of Russia War

June 17, 2022
climate change

Developing Countries Left ‘Disappointed’ at Climate Talks

June 16, 2022
US President Donald Trump

Owning the Words and the Libs

June 16, 2022

Opinion

US President Donald Trump

Owning the Words and the Libs

June 16, 2022
Officers in Uvalde, Texas, stand outside Robb Elementary School near a makeshift memorial for the shooting victims

Child Sacrifice Makes a Comeback

June 3, 2022
A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

May 18, 2022
A man holding a gun

Safely Back in USA, Land of Guns and Burgers

May 2, 2022
China Muslim Uyghurs

Unfair Politicization, Corruption, and the Death of Modern Olympism

April 23, 2022
Ukraine war

The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis and the Hierarchies of Western Compassion

April 20, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post