Taliban want to address UN Assembly on behalf of Afghanistan

Published on : 09/22/2021 – 00:47

The representation of Afghanistan before the Annual General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) is disputed. Taliban-appointed government foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi asked to speak on behalf of Afghanistan at the meeting, as did the former ousted government’s ambassador.

The United Nations have not yet decided who will represent this country in the meeting which opened Tuesday, September 21 for a week, explains the spokesperson of the organization, Stéphane Dujarric.

The two competing requests are in the hands of the “accreditation commission”, he added, without specifying whether it would meet before Monday, the last day of the week of interventions by the leaders of the countries of the planet in the prestigious New York tribune of the UN.

Two letters received by the UN

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres first received a letter on September 15 from the current Permanent Representation of Afghanistan, signed by its Ambassador Ghulam Isaczai. The latter is presented as “head of delegation” for the General Assembly, reported Stéphane Dujarric.

Then, on September 20, Antonio Guterres “received a letter on the letterhead from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, signed by the head of diplomacy appointed by the Taliban after they came to power mid August.

Amir Khan Muttaqi “asks to participate” in the great world diplomatic meeting, added the spokesman, without specifying whether he heard speaking in person in New York or by recorded video, as it is authorized this year due to the Covid-19.

In his letter, the Taliban minister underlines that Ashraf Ghani has been “overthrown” and that countries around the world “no longer recognize him as president” of Afghanistan.

A spokesman for the Taliban in Doha, Suhail Shaheen, is appointed Ambassador of Afghanistan to the UN, according to the letter.

Decisions often put to a vote

Most governments around the world have yet to recognize the Taliban-appointed government, previously demanding that it meet several conditions, including respect for women’s rights and its commitment to let those who want to leave Afghanistan.

The accreditation commission is made up of Russia, China, the United States, Sweden, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Chile, Bhutan and the Bahamas.

In the case of two requests for diplomatic representation for a Member State, the members of the committee have often refrained in the past from deciding on the merits by referring the question to the General Assembly for a decision at the time of. a vote, a diplomatic source told AFP.

With AFP