Guterres says Doha meeting was not about recognizing IEA

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday stressed that the meeting in Doha on Afghanistan had not been aimed at recognizing the Islamic Emirate.

Speaking in a press conference after the two-day meeting of 20 countries’ envoys, Guterres said he was open to meeting IEA officials when it was the “right moment to do so, but today is not the right moment.”

In the meeting, participants expressed concerns over the presence of terrorist groups, lack of inclusivity, humanitarian situation and recent IEA decisions against girls and women, Guterres said.

He maintained that the United Nations will stay in Afghanistan to deliver aid to millions of desperate Afghans despite the IEA’s restrictions on its female staff, but funding is drying up.

Guterres also said concerns over Afghanistan’s stability were growing.

“Throughout the past decades, we stayed and we delivered, and we are determined to seek the necessary conditions to keep delivering. Humanitarian aid is a fragile lifeline for millions of Afghans. The United Nations will not waiver in our commitment to support the people of Afghanistan,” Guterres said.

The ban on female Afghan UN staff signaled by IEA last month was a violation of human rights, he said.

“We will never be silent in the face of unprecedented systemic attacks on women’s and girls’ rights,” he said.

He warned of a severe shortfall in financial pledges for its humanitarian appeal this year, which is just over 6% funded, falling short of the $4.6 billion requested for a country in which most of the population live in poverty.

IEA says it respects women’s rights in accordance with Sharia law and that Afghanistan’s territory would not be used for militancy or violence against other nations.