Linking the resumption of aid to Afghanistan to respect for human rights, Westerners presented their demands to the Taliban on Tuesday in Oslo, on the last day of an unprecedented and controversial visit by Islamists.
The final chapter of their first official trip to Europe since their return to power in August, the Taliban, still in search of international recognition and money, had bilateral meetings behind closed doors with several Western diplomats.
The latter seized the opportunity to explain what they expect from the Taliban who have once again become masters of a country where more than half of the population is threatened by hunger this winter.
“I also stressed the need for primary and secondary schools to be open to boys and girls across the country when the school year begins in March,” the European Union’s special envoy posted on Twitter. ) in Afghanistan.
Tomas Niklasson was responding to another tweet of the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who welcomed the EU’s commitment to “continue its humanitarian aid to Afghanistan”.
Led by their Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Islamist delegation also had bilateral talks with a senior French official, Bertrand Lotholary, the British special envoy Nigel Casey and members of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Similar talks with US officials have not been confirmed.
The Taliban say they see these meetings at the Soria Moria hotel, on a snowy hill in Oslo, as a step towards international recognition. “The fact of having come to Norway […] is a success in itself, because we have shared the international scene”, welcomed Mr. Muttaqi on Monday on the sidelines of plenary discussions with Westerners.
“From these meetings, we are sure to derive support in the humanitarian, health and education sectors in Afghanistan,” he added.
Inviting power, Norway affirms that the discussions are neither “a legitimization nor a recognition” of the Taliban government.
But her decision to welcome this delegation transported in a private jet which she chartered at great expense was strongly criticized by many experts, members of the diaspora and Afghan activists.
Also in their crosshairs: the presence among the 15 members of the delegation – exclusively male – of Anas Haqqani, one of the leaders of the Haqqani network, a clan responsible for several deadly attacks in Afghanistan and considered by the United States as a “terrorist” group. “.
Gradual changes
No state has yet recognized the Taliban regime, and the international community is waiting to see how the Islamists govern the country before any aid is released.
“This is not the start of an open and infinite process,” said Norwegian State Secretary Henrik Thune, who was to meet with the Taliban in the evening.
“We will put forward tangible demands, which we can follow up on, and see if they meet them,” he told Norwegian news agency NTB on Monday.
In addition to the possibility of providing humanitarian aid directly to the Afghan population, these demands were mainly to relate to human rights, in particular those of women and minorities, such as access to education and health services, the right to work and freedom of movement.
Under Taliban rule, women are largely excluded from government jobs, and secondary schools for girls mostly remain closed.
The fate of two feminists who disappeared last week in Kabul after taking part in a demonstration should also be raised. The Taliban deny any involvement.
“We cannot save lives without the sanctions being lifted,” Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told AFP on Tuesday, before a meeting between NGOs like his and the Taliban.
The aid freeze “penalizes the same civilians on whose defense NATO countries have spent hundreds of billions until August”, he argued.
As a result of the suspension of aid, but also of several droughts, 55% of the Afghan population is threatened by hunger, according to the UN.
In Oslo, a Western observer said he noted “some gradual changes on both sides”.
“But I think we will need more of these meetings before the Taliban and the West can deal with each other,” he told AFP.