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.