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.

Senior defence officials and government leaders from around the world presented their case for regional peace and stability at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore over the weekend.

The US and China proposed different mechanisms for partnership and cooperation in the region, with delegates at times disagreeing on various issues.

The summit also took place against a tense international backdrop, ranging from disputes in the South China Sea to Israeli aggression in Gaza and the ongoing war in Ukraine. During the three-day event, senior officials held numerous bilateral and several closed-door meetings.

US-China tensions

The world’s two largest economies laid out different paths for regional cooperation at the Shangri-La Dialogue. On Saturday, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin outlined America’s vision of a broad network of partnerships with Indo-Pacific countries. This vision is also seen as a US attempt to ‘contain and contain’ China through its allies in the region.

Austin advocated a ‘new convergence’ of stronger and more resilient ties in the region, not tied to a single alliance or coalition, but made up of ‘overlapping and complementary initiatives and institutions’. Austin stressed that the US commitment to the Indo-Pacific is ‘all-encompassing’.

His Chinese counterpart, Defence Minister Dong Jun, spoke of his country’s ‘five principles of peaceful coexistence’: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

Referring to Washington’s push for an anti-China alliance in the region, Dong Jun said: ‘Our people oppose any attempt to turn our countries into vassal states or drag us into bloc conflicts. Our people despise those who seek to strengthen themselves by taking orders from hegemonic powers.

The Taiwan debate was also on the agenda. Taiwan’s new pro-independence leader, Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party, made an anti-China and pro-independence speech at his swearing-in ceremony last week, sparking tensions. Beijing responded by calling the speech ‘provocative and separatist’ and then launched military exercises around the island to ‘blockade’ Taiwan.

On Friday, US Defence Secretary Austin described the Chinese People’s Liberation Army drill as ‘provocative’ and expressed ‘concern’.

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun reiterated the ‘one China’ principle during a question-and-answer session at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday.

Dong stressed that China would not hesitate to take ‘decisive action’ to prevent any move towards independence for the island, in a strong response to Taiwan separatism. He said any attempt to separate the island from China would lead to ‘self-destruction’. Experts pointed out that this was the first time the term had been used.

Surprise visit by Zelenskiy

In a surprise move, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky also travelled to Singapore to support the ‘peace summit’ scheduled for 15-16 June in Switzerland. The Ukrainian leader said 106 countries and 75 heads of state had confirmed their attendance.

We need the support of Asian countries,’ Zelensky told reporters on Sunday. Ukraine is trying to persuade more developing countries from the so-called global south to attend, including China, which has said it will not attend without a representative from Russia. But the Ukrainian leader on Sunday accused Beijing of working with Moscow to prevent countries from attending the upcoming forum. Zelensky said Russia was using China’s regional influence and diplomats to block the summit. It is unfortunate that a big, independent and powerful country like China is a tool in Putin’s hands,” he said.

Philippines-China tensions continue

Tensions between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea, another area of conflict, continued at the meeting.

In the forum’s opening speech, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. responded to China’s “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions” without naming any country. Marcos argued that if tensions in the South China Sea resulted in the death of a Philippine citizen, it would be ‘an act close to war’. He stressed that such an event could trigger the Mutual Defence Treaty signed with the US in 1951. In previous statements, Marcos had said that the treaty would be activated if a Filipino soldier died as a result of a foreign attack.

It was noted that the US ‘welcomed’ Marcos’ speech.

In response, the Chinese Defence Minister said in his speech: ‘We will not allow hegemonism and power politics to harm the interests of Asia-Pacific countries. We will not allow anyone to bring hot or cold geopolitical conflicts or wars to our region. We will not allow any country or power to create conflict and chaos in our region.

Gaza

In their speeches, Indonesia and Malaysia expressed concern over Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

In a special address on Saturday, Indonesian Defence Minister and President-elect Prabowo Subianto said the new proposal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was an ‘important step in the right direction’ towards ending the eight-month war. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, has no formal relations with Israel.

As part of the new proposal, Prabowo pledged Indonesia’s willingness to contribute ‘significant’ peacekeepers to maintain and monitor a possible ceasefire if needed and requested by the United Nations. The new leader said the Southeast Asian country was also ready to evacuate and treat around 1,000 patients from Gaza.

During the closing session on Sunday, Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin applauded Prabowo’s remarks and reiterated that Kuala Lumpur ‘absolutely welcomes and supports’ any proposal that would lead to an immediate and lasting ceasefire.

The Malaysian defence chief concluded his speech by suggesting that the annual Singapore Defence Forum invite a representative from Palestine to future events.