Taliban sent letter with commitments to protect UN staff in Afghanistan: Antonio Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently said that he received a letter from the Taliban, in which the insurgents committed to protecting UN personnel working in Afghanistan and addressed issues related to women’s rights. While speaking to Sputnik, Guterres said that in the letter, the Taliban discussed humanitarian aid, protection to the UN by the militants and also women and girls rights. The UN chief added that the discussions were “constructive and positive”.

"We discussed with them humanitarian aid, [having] the possibility of the UN to extend humanitarian aid to the whole territory without discrimination, the protection to the UN by the Taliban and also our concerns with the special rights of women and girls that are particularly important for us," Guterres said.

He added, “The discussions have been quite constructive and positive - we received a letter from the Taliban with commitments in relation to these aspects”. 

Taliban’s written commitments

Further, Guterres also noted that earlier in September UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths travelled to Kabul to meet with the Taliban leadership to address a number of issues. Earlier, while addressing a UN Conference, Griffiths had said that he had received written assurances from the Taliban to allow relief efforts to continue. He revealed that the Taliban’s written commitments included the removal of “current and previous impediments” to the UN’s humanitarian projects. 

He also added that aid workers would also be protected by the Taliban, as would the sanctity of UN premises. The Taliban were in agreement about women’s rights and freedom of expression, in line with the country’s religious and cultural values, the UN emergency chief explained. 

Separately, during the same conference, Guterres had also called on the international community to urgently offer a “lifeline” to millions of vulnerable Afghans “who face perhaps their most perilous hour”. He said that even before the uncertainty caused by the Taliban takeover last month, people were in the grip of one of the worst crisis in the world. He said that Afghans “need a lifeline” and further highlighted concerns over humanitarian access. 

(With inputs from ANI)