The United Nations spokesperson for the secretary-general Stéphane Dujarric has downplayed the absence of many special envoys at their meeting with Afghan civil society representatives in Doha on Tuesday.

Dujarric said the UN is not in a position to tell country representatives which meeting to attend.

This comes after the UN Under-Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo met separately with civil society members on Tuesday after the two-day special envoys meeting on Afghanistan in Doha wrapped up Monday.

Afghan women and civil society representatives had been barred from the formal two-day meeting, which included a delegation from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

Dujarric also stated the third Doha meeting had not been an intra-Afghan meeting.

The exclusion of women and civil society representatives from the formal meeting had become a topic of debate over the past few days with critics lashing out at the UN for not having demanded clear and measurable steps toward the restoration and protection of women’s rights as a crucial initial step toward engagement.

The Diplomat reports that instead, UN leadership has shown it is prepared to treat the fundamental human rights of half of Afghanistan’s population as a mere afterthought.

Dujarric meanwhile said that each special envoy could talk about human rights, women’s rights and the issue of drugs.

He added that DiCarlo and Roza Otunbayeva, head of UNAMA, had raised the issue of women in the formal meeting and in their previous meetings in Kabul with the Islamic Emirate.

Dujarric emphasized that the issue of women and human rights is something that the United Nations deals with every day and is at the top of all the discussions of this organization.

On Tuesday, DiCarlo said at a press conference that there “really is a need to build trust on all sides”.

She said it was important to have dialogue “that’s built on honesty”.

“It’s got to be based on principles, those of the UN Charter, and various human rights treaties that Afghanistan is a party to.”

She also stated: “Human rights and especially the rights of women and girls , and inclusion of all members of society will continue to be an integral part of our discussions.”

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