Female Politicians World to the UN: Excluding Women from the Doha Meeting is Cruel and Contrary to the UN Charter

The letter was issued on Wednesday (26 June) on the sidelines of the "Global Female Leaders Summit 2024." The signatories describe the exclusion of Afghan women by the international community as "cruel ." They emphasize that this action will marginalize women's voices and undermine their rights.

The letter is signed by Vjosa Osmani, President of Kosovo; Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State; Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia; Shaharzad Akbar, former head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission; Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand; Patricia Espinosa, former Mexican Foreign Minister; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former President of the UN General Assembly; Dalia Grybauskaitė, former President of Lithuania; Carla Koppell, Associate Dean of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service; Sanna Marin, former Prime Minister of Finland; Monica McWilliams, former member of the Northern Ireland Assembly; and Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security.

The letter states that the exclusion of Afghan women from the Doha meeting is contrary to the UN Charter, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, nine other related resolutions, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

The letter also emphasizes that excluding Afghan women from the Doha meeting contradicts the global community's stance on women's rights in Afghanistan and undermines the credibility and effectiveness of the meeting.

The signatories add: "We must not pave the way for the Taliban to gain broader legitimacy, including their cruel treatment of women. Allowing the Taliban to dictate the terms of the Doha dialogue legitimizes their brutal abuses, which amount to gender apartheid."

The letter stresses: "This is a defining moment for the international community to demonstrate its unwavering commitment to the women and girls of Afghanistan by insisting on their presence at the negotiation table."

It is worth noting that the third meeting of special representatives of countries on Afghan affairs is scheduled to be held next Sunday and Monday, hosted by the United Nations in Doha, Qatar.

The invitation of the Taliban to this meeting and the exclusion of women have sparked widespread criticism, leading to calls for a sanction by women's protest movements, human rights activists, and Afghan civil society activists. Protests have also been held in several cities around the world.