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New constitution in Afghanistan should be adopted following national dialogue: Rome meeting
A new constitution for Afghanistan should only be adopted following a transparent, inclusive, and meaningful national consultative dialogue, envoys of eight countries and the European Union said in a meeting in Italy’s capital Rome.
The meeting of Special Representatives and Envoys for Afghanistan from Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States was held on October 18, according to a joint statement released by the US State Department on Tuesday.
They noted with regret that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has taken “no serious steps to initiate an inclusive political process with fellow Afghans regarding the future order of the country; and affirmed that legitimacy is derived, first and foremost, from the Afghan people.”
They emphasized that “a new constitution for the country should only be adopted following a transparent, inclusive, and meaningful national consultative dialogue and urged the Taliban and other Afghans to seek advice from the UN and OIC in this regard.”
Participants of the meeting also expressed “grave concern for the human rights situation in Afghanistan; and reiterated their firm belief that the Taliban’s policies excluding women and girls from social, economic, political and cultural life in Afghanistan, including restrictions on education and employment, violate the rights of Afghans and international obligations, deeply undermine the economy and affect the prospect of the country’s development and long-term stability.”
They called on the IEA to “reverse their restrictive educational policies immediately; and affirmed that education is a human right and that equal access to quality education, based on curricula that meet international standards and that cover various areas of knowledge, should be ensured for all.”
Participants of the meeting acknowledged IEA actions to tackle terrorist threats from ISIS-K but “expressed concern that some terrorist groups still reside safely inside Afghanistan and are able to plan and carry out cross-border terrorist strikes.”
They urged all States, including Afghanistan’s neighbors, to uphold their applicable obligations with respect to the protection of refugees, to promote the right to seek asylum, and to ensure individuals, and called on these States to put in place measures to develop a system of registration for undocumented Afghans, while ensuring protection for vulnerable Afghans in need of international protection, according to the statement.
This comes as the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly said that it is committed to ensuring the rights of Afghans according to Sharia.
Latvia has launched a criminal investigation into potential human trafficking after the release of documents related to late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that included references to Latvian model agencies and models, police in the Baltic nation said on Thursday.
The investigation, which also involves Latvia’s prosecutors and its Organised Crime Bureau, will centre on “the possible recruitment of Latvian nationals for sexual exploitation in the United States”, police said in a statement, Reuters reported.
It has asked potential victims to come forward.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics called for the investigation after the public broadcaster reported the Epstein documents included passport data and travel details for several Latvian women.
Eriks Neisans, head of the Natalie modelling agency mentioned in the documents, denied any knowledge of wrongdoing to the public broadcaster.
The U.S. Justice Department’s recent release of millions of internal documents related to Epstein has revealed the late financier and sex offender’s ties to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business – both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges.
Latvia’s neighbour Lithuania has launched its own investigation into human trafficking earlier this week.
Afghan citizens were among the top three nationalities applying for asylum in Russia in 2025, according to new statistics reviewed by TASS. The figures show that 281 Afghan nationals submitted asylum requests during the year, placing Afghanistan in the third-highest position.
The data shows that Syrians ranked second with 3,196 applications. The highest number of requests came from Ukrainian citizens, who filed 3,332 applications in 2025—slightly lower than in previous years but still the largest group overall.
Uzbekistan (176 applicants) and Germany (129) also appeared among the top five nationalities seeking asylum in Russia last year. Overall, 8,220 foreigners applied for temporary asylum in 2025, an increase of 1,341 compared to 2024.
Temporary asylum in Russia grants legal residence, permission to work without a permit, access to medical care under compulsory insurance, travel documents, education opportunities, and financial assistance. It is also considered the first step toward securing a temporary residence permit and eventually Russian citizenship.
Bilal Karimi, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate in Beijing, met on Thursday with Liu Jinsong, head of the Asian Department of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Yue Xiaoyong, China’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. The officials discussed political, economic, and commercial relations between the two countries, the activation of the Wakhan corridor, consular affairs, and other related issues.
According to a statement from the Embassy of Afghanistan in China, Karimi praised China’s positive stance toward Afghanistan and considered cooperation between the two countries necessary.
The statement added that Liu and Yue, while respecting Afghanistan’s independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty, also emphasized the continuation of cooperation.
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