Rosemary DiCarlo, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, has stated that lifting restrictions and ensuring women’s and girls’ access to education and employment is one of the key pillars of the international community’s engagement with Afghanistan.
Ms. DiCarlo made these remarks during her three-day visit to Afghanistan aimed at following up on the “Doha Process.” She said that the Doha Process was launched in 2023 by the UN Secretary-General to enable “principled and pragmatic” engagement with Afghanistan for the benefit of all Afghan citizens.
The UN Under-Secretary-General emphasized that in all her meetings and discussions, she has consistently stressed the necessity of restoring women’s access to education, work, and public life.
She added that this issue remains one of the central pillars of the international community’s engagement with Afghanistan.
Ms. DiCarlo also reported on her meeting with Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting Interior Minister, noting that discussions covered cooperation in combating narcotics, efforts to improve the country’s security situation, obstacles to humanitarian access resulting from the closure of the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, and restrictions on female staff working for aid organizations, including the United Nations.
Referring to the role of female staff of UN agencies in Afghanistan’s development, she said that she had expressed solidarity with them.
She further stated that women working for UN entities must be able to return to their offices in order to deliver essential services to the people of Afghanistan.
According to DiCarlo, she also met with women and civil society representatives, and in these meetings they discussed the human rights situation in the country, including restrictions imposed on women and girls, as well as the need to continue dialogue with the current authorities and the international community through the Doha Process.
