Switzerland calls Afghanistan 'difficult dilemma' as it assumes UN Security Council presidency

UNITED NATIONS

Swiss Ambassador to the UN Pascale Baeriswyl said on Monday that the situation in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime is a "very difficult dilemma" to deal with as her country took over the rotating UN Security Council presidency for the first time.

"We do not have the magic solution to that," Baeriswyl told reporters at the UN headquarters. "I really hope that the Doha meeting leads to a discussion of how to handle the situation".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in the Qatari capital, Doha to host a two-day meeting on Afghanistan to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban, Afghanistan's de facto authorities.

Türkiye is among the 25 countries and groups attending the UN-led talks.

The Taliban have not been invited to the meeting in Doha, said UN spokesperson Stephan Dujarric.

"Recognition is not up for discussion at this meeting," he said. "We're not in the business of ensuring anything. We're in the business of being determined and of continuing to work in trying to coordinate the actions of the international community for singularity of purpose, for the sake of the people of Afghanistan, notably for women and girls in Afghanistan."

The Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021, followed by the disruption of international financial assistance has left the worn-torn country in economic, humanitarian and human rights crises.

Taliban rulers have mounted a sustained attack on human rights despite their commitments to protect human and women's rights.

Women and girls have been deprived of their rights, including the right to education, and disappeared from public life under the Taliban.

Thousands of women have since lost their jobs or were forced to resign from government institutions and the private sector.