All set for the 3rd round of UN-initiated Doha conference on Afghanistan situation. The Taliban delegations and representatives from foreign countries will attend the two-day conference in the capital city of Qatar from June 30 and first of July 2024. The Afghan civil society members are also invited. But before we deliver on expectation from this conference, here we take a glance at the second round of Doha conference which was held in February 2024.

Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed visited Afghanistan in January 2023. The visit had come at a time when the Taliban banned women from going to workplaces and girls from going to schools. Women, working for NGOs and even UN offices, were banned from attending office. Following her trip to Afghanistan at that time, Mohammed went to Kandahar province, the place where the Taliban supreme leader is residing, and met with the senior Taliban officials including Yusuf Wafa, the Taliban provincial governor.

After concluding her trip, Mohammed emphasized the need for a broad political approach in dealing with the Taliban and called on the Taliban to observe women’s rights including their rights to education and work.

In May 2023, the UN decided to arrange a broad-based meeting to discuss Afghanistan. UN Secretary-General Atonio Guterres also traveled to Doha and in a press briefing he called for the formation of an inclusive government and observation of women’s rights in Afghanistan.

The second Doha conference was held on May 1 and 2 and all the discussions were held behind doors. The meeting included envoys from 21 countries including US, Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Japan, India, Indonesia, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UK, France, Germany, Norway and Central Asian states such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.  Representatives from the EU and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also participated in the conference. Four members of Afghan civil society were also in attendance, and they called for reopening girl’s schools and formation of such a government which is acceptable for all.

Taliban didn’t accept UN invitation for the second Doha Conference

The UN has said that they didn’t invite the Taliban in the first round of the conference, but they sent an invitation to the Taliban for the second Doha conference, in which the Talian denied their participation.

UN Secretary-General Atonio Guterres said that they didn’t invite the Taliban in the first round of the conference, but they sent an invitation to the Taliban for the second Doha conference.

Guterres said that it was not the right time to meet with the Taliban. Similarly other groups of the Afghan segment including civil society members, women rights activists, and the majority of foreign countries’ representatives were not invited in the first conference.

However, in the second round of talks, foreign representatives held four sessions in the two-day conference, where they discussed human rights issues, including women, and girls’ rights, inclusive governance, counterterrorism, and topics related to drug trafficking.

The aim behind these sessions was to achieve a collective view and develop an international approach regarding Afghanistan, but these meetings, according to Guterres, were not meant for recognition of the Taliban.

Taliban agreed to attend third Doha conference

The Taliban has shown green signal to attend the upcoming third Doha conference. The Taliban delegation has been invited to participate in the Doha meeting, Taliban Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi said, adding that Taliban is looking to create a positive relation with the West, including the US, EU, and the regional countries.

Muttaqi said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been officially invited and “this invitation is a green signal for the growing possibility of recognition of the Taliban government by the international community”.

“We are seeking positive relations with EU countries, the US and our neighbors and the regional countries,” he added.

Taliban Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi said that Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been officially invited to Doha Conference, and this invitation is a green signal for the growing possibility of recognition of the Taliban government by the international community. 

Muttaqi’s statement came when the international community still persisted in its demand and expressed concern about the lack of women’s and girl’s access to basic rights including education and participation of them in the political landscape of the country.

The third round of the meeting will be chaired by Rosemary DiCarlo, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and DiCarlo is a US citizen and has been working in this post since 2018.

DiCarlo has visited Afghanistan two times and her first visit was in December 2021 just four months after US forces withdrawal and the collapse of the Republic System backed by the US in the past 20 years.

During her meeting, she held talks with key Taliban leaders, including Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister and she emphasized on the need for continued efforts to create an inclusive system in Afghanistan.

Firdavs Jalily, Journalist, Dushanbe

There is nothing more important to life on this earth than water and the ability to work together to overcome water scarcity. The entire globe, from Asian to South-and-Central Asia, from Europe to US and from Australia to sub-Saharan Africa, water is scarce and the people are struggling to access clean water.

Millions of people around the world at the moment lack access to water supplies and they are struggling for clean water they need for drinking, cooking, bathing, and growing their food. Globally there are estimated around 2.2 billion people without potable water and every day over 800 children die from drinking dirty water due to diarrhea caused by poor water, sanitation and hygiene. This is the problem among different societies around the world. Indeed, the impact of water scarcity affects the families and communities and further triggers them into poverty. Among them, women and children are the most prone to this worse phenomenon as they are more vulnerable to disease of dirty water.

Meanwhile, taking note of global water dearth, an important conference on water-related issues was held in Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan. World leaders, including SADC member states have gathered in Dushanbe for the 3rd High-Level International Conference. The three-day conference, which was held under the theme of “Water for Sustainable Development” 2018-2028, is part of a 10 years action plan within the framework of the Dushanbe Water Process with cooperation of the United Nations. According to the experts, the meeting was a huge success.

Water problems in the world and the region

World Water Day has been held on March 22nd every year in order to raise awareness that billions of people are living without access to safe water and there should be an end in sight. There is widely believed that clean water is a basic human right but no sufficient work has been done on delivering this. Water is critical to life and the human can only survive about three days without it, but yet many stakeholders do not pay immense attention to this precious resource and have taken this granted. Countries with water seem reluctant to address water scarcity in another region and even the world leaders are not interested in this topic. For instance, the Dushanbe Water Conference has been considered crucial for ending water-related issues, but the question is why this conference did not receive attention globally. This gives a narrative that world leaders are not serious in this issue despite the fact that billions of people are now without water.

By 2050, between 4.8 billion and 5.7 billion out of nine billion will live in areas that are water-scarce for at least one month each year, up from 3.6 billion today while the number of people at risk of floods will increase to 1.6 billion up from 1.2 billion today, according to UN-Water’s World Water Development. It is also reported that per capita freshwater availability is diminishing and it has dropped by one-third over the past four decades.

22 million people estimated among 79 million people in the five-Central Asian countries, lack access to safe water. So, for every 10 Central Asians, three live perennially without the certainty they can find a glass of clean water to drink. And this could get much worse without remedial action.

The World Bank estimates that the population of the region is poised to grow to 90-110 million by 2050 and highlights the need for a rapid action to provide clean water for the masses and also to find a tangible solution to control the water from being wasted.

The region collectively consumes approximately 127 billion cubic meters of water with about 80 pc, or 100 billion cubic meters used annually for agriculture. However, only 50 pc of the water emerged for agriculture it utilized while the rest is being lost on the way due to poor condition of the irrigation system.

Why was Dushanbe chosen?

Abundant water resources make Tajikistan a land of lavishness. It is indeterminate that Tajikistan has around 947 rivers and over 13,000 natural lakes such as Karakul, Iskandarkul, Sarez, Kulikalon, Bahri Tojik reservoir, Nurek reservoir and Sari Khosor Waterfall, creating astonishing landscapes of water resources in the country.

Moreover, Tajikistan has also been an important player in solving water problems at the regional level, because up to 60pc of the water resources of the rivers in Central Asian countries (the Aral Sea Basin) are formed in Tajikistan.

In December 2016, with the initiative of Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, the United Nations General Assembly declared the period of 2018-2028 as the International Decade for Action “Water for sustainable Development in order to achieve internationally agreed water-related goals.

In this process which was initiated by Rahmon, Tajikistan is committed to continue providing a platform for policy dialogue, partnership and action at the global, regional and national level.

Tajikistan, which has good relations with the EU, Russia and China, is also a co-founder of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and its two commissions, the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination and the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development which are the only entities that are providing platforms for discussing urgent transboundary water issues in the region.

Center for Global Strategic Studies reported that Tajikistan is working on the aspects for effective water governance and management strategies i.e,. grand financing, investment and modernization of existing infrastructure, transition to green growth, active involvement of all stakeholders, construction of new dams, rehabilitating water resources capacity, and the resolving transboundary water disputes.

Meanwhile, being rich in areas of water, Tajikistan has a plan to generate 100 percent of its electricity from hydropower, reinforcing its position as a leader in sustainable energy by 2032.

In this way, Tajikistan would pave the way for achieving the water-related goals and objectives of sustainable development.

What is the purpose of the Dushanbe Water Conference

Leaders from different countries, ministers, high-level representatives of states, experts, ambassadors, SADC member states, and policymakers called for urgent action to address water challenges at the 3rd Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference and Dushanbe Conference considered a critical component in accelerating action towards the water-related goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Welcoming the participants, Rahmon urged global cooperation on water issues caused by climate change and highlighted his country’s initiatives to put water at the center of global development negotiations to unite the international community around water action.

Rahmon said that Dushanbe Water Process provides a vital platform for comprehensive preparation for the United Nations Water Conference in 2026 and 2028, outlining Tajikistan’s ambitious goal to become a “green country” by 2037 by developing a “green economy.”

The conference concluded with a declaration underlining five critical areas for action; 1, improving water management for human health, 2, establishing policies for universal water and sanitation access, 3, preparing national climate adaptation plans, 4, strengthening integrated water resource management, 5, increasing public and private financing.

Emphasizing that water is critical for achieving all SDGs, the participants underlined that water, ecosystems, energy, health, food security and improved nutrition are interlinked, and that water and sanitation are a prerequisite for human development.

According to the final declaration, the empowerment of women and girls, and the eradication of poverty and hunger, and are indispensable for addressing the interrelated challenged of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

They also emphasized that the conference will aid the international community in preparing for the 2026 Water Conference, with future conferences in Dushanbe in 2026 and 2028 continuing to support the Water Action Decade and Agenda.

Briefing the participants, Alvaro Lario, the President of the International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD) emphasized the need for holistic, collaborative solutions to ensure safe water for everyone. “As UN-Water Chair, I’m excited to soon launch the first UN-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation to acceleration process on SDG6,” he said.

Melting glaciers is a big concern

As we already mentioned above that Tajikistan has been blessed with abundant of rivers and natural lakes, but at the same time climate change is posing great threats. One of the biggest threats is the melting of glaciers in Tajikistan due to warm weather and at the same time, climate change has increased the risk of flash floods from bursting ice lakes.

During his speech, Rahmon stressed the need to ramp up efforts, seeing the risks and rising threats caused by the rapid melting of glaciers in Tajikistan.

“Over the past few decades, 1,000 of the 13,000 glaciers in our country, which are the main source of formation for up to 60 percent of Central Asia’s water resources, have completely melted,” said Rahmon.

The shrinking cryosphere is of particular concern to Central Asia, as the region’s main river systems are dependent on the seasonal melt of snow and ice, according to UNESCO. With climate change, the glaciers are shrinking from one year to the next. These melting glaciers will initially supply larger quantities of water but the flow will gradually decline as their volume decreases.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay said that regional dialogue, cooperation and trust are essential for efficient use and peaceful management of the riversan and stressed on the joint initiatives for new openings and opportunities to find mutual and long-term responses to water, energy and environmental resources based on perceptions of shared risks from climate change.

Tajikistan’s fifth participation in the water sector was recognized by the United Nations General Assembly by adopting a special resolution. According to this resolution, the year 2025 was declared as the International Year of Preservation of Glaciers, and from the beginning of 2025, March 21st will be celebrated every year as the International Day of Glaciers.

As Tajikistan is not an industrialized country, its share in the total amount of greenhouse waste is insignificant, President Rahmon said that this is the main reason for Tajikistan’s initiative to declare 2025 as the International Year of Glacier Preservation.

By Shamim Shahid and Abdul Waheed Waheed 

In order to participate in third conference scheduled to be held at Doha, Qatar on June 30th till July 3 next,  regarding ongoing situation and future prospects of Afghanistan, the Taliban leaders governing Kabul have held talks with representatives of the United Nations and Qatar, and come up with the demand of Afghanistan seat in United Nations.

In connection with making successful the event, UN Secretary General’s representatives are touring the region. The UN representative had visited Kabul couple of days back and held details conversations with Taliban office holders. Taliban leadership besides listening to UN officioals also handed over a list of its demands which included beside others recognition of its Emirate Islami and giving it the UN seat on permanent grounds.

Whatever might be its conclusion and decisions but almost sessions of over three days much important gathering to be attended by a number of countries, either having stakes or interested in ending of over four decades conflict in Afghanistan but Taliban’s decision banning girls’ education, ending women’s jobs and establishing an inclusive government are believed to be its main key terms on the agenda. But instead, Taliban wants to include its achievements like controlling drugs production and its eradication, improving security situation and combating the IS (Daesh) militants considering a serious threat to the global peace may be made part of the agenda.

But apart from UN and Taliban, others especially European and Far Eastern world would definitely highlight political and rights issues as no one is allowed to exercise just human rights, Since mid of August 2021, forced disappearance, mysterious target and extra judicial killing, detention of men and women, denying just rights of expression to media personnel, making mum and even killing and beating of singers, musicians and artists are considered routine matters across Afghanistan. It will also be hard for the global community to remain silent spectators to what happening at hands of gun-totting Taliban inside prison houses and detention centers with all those who have served the country in different categories. All those who either remained in civil or in security organs since November 2001 last are still treated by Taliban as “enemies and American agents.” Hundreds of such people are locked in prisons for undine since August 2021 last.

Why it is hard for the regional countries to recognize Taliban

Except Russian Federation, nor any other country extended either any support to Taliban or willing to endorse its demand for giving representation in UN and recognition of its regime. Though Chinese are willing to recognize Taliban but they (Chinese) are aware its prices. It could be hard for China to formally recognize Taliban regime before of any other member of international community. Pakistan is making conditional all of its support and cooperation to Taliban. Compare to recent past, Pakistan’s position on the issue of Afghanistan is now different but still it effecting rest of the worlds on the grounds of its domains over “Islamic hardlines.”

In such a circumstances, defending its case could be very hard for Taliban in much high profile Doha Conference, considered biggest event in Qatar after February 2020 last when the US and Pakistan backed Afghan Taliban signed an agreement. Through this agreement, Taliban succeeded in returning to power but they had failed in earning hearts of common Afghans who having no any concern that who is in power and who is governing Afghanistan but they are much more interested in peace and tranquility in their motherland.

On such grounds, participation of Taliban government Doha Conference would definitely requires with strong arguments, especially with a positive approach, adopting a flexible and showing a balanced flexibility in the framework of its internal and external responsibilities and obligations.  At the international level, the Taliban can communicate to the international community positive aspects of their achievements especially defending sovereignty and solidarity of the country, ensuring peace and tranquility and discouraging production of opium and its conversion in valuable commodities and its trafficking as well. Similarly patiently listening, understanding and  responding its positive assurances about common men ( Afghans) miseries from the participants/observers and HR  activists  could make beneficial the Taliban who are now reluctant to share powers with others despite commitments made in Doha February 2020 historical documents.

Doha conference is significant opportunity for the Taliban

The Third globally applauded Doha conference might be a valuable opportunity for Taliban rulers as through it in return of international community’s demands pertained to honouring of human rights, allowing girls education and women to contribute in addressing economic needs of families, ending of political victimization and others, Taliban could easily cash its achievements. Doha conference could prove a golden chance for Taliban to review its all those internal and external shortfalls as Afghanistan is still on the bank of another global strategy, whereas US lead allies days and nights made hard by Russian federation on defense side and Chinese on economic side.

Attending the said meeting will certainly reduce sensitivity and mistrust of global community towards Taliban, calling also Emirate Islami Afghanistan. Through this event, Taliban could easily convey its messages to rest of the world and can easily convince some of community fellows in favour of its achievements. Similarly through this event, Taliban could easily convince rest of the world which is really interested in nothing else except ending of hostilities and return to peace and tranquility in the war devastated Afghanistan. Through this scheduled event, Taliban without support or assistance of any third party mediation, could easily response to reservations and observations of international community and can get a lot for the war affected people of Afghanistan. It is the time

Whatever might be the situation, Taliban must avail the opportunity otherwise its decision of didn’t attending the moot could be an emotional blunder. Though Taliban would call it an independence in decisions and didn’t bowing head to compromise its principles in according to their own interpreted Islamic doctrine but it would pose very bad impacts on the future of already over war devastated Afghanistan. It would make more isolate Afghanistan at the time when its sheltered banned Tehrik Taliban Afghanistan is considered a serious threats to its links with Pakistan and Russian Federation and some of Central Asian countries are considering Afghanistan sheltered IS militants a threat to its peace.