A participant at the intra-Afghan dialogue said that the Taliban’s delegation promised to allow girls’ access to education….reports Asian Lite News
Norwegian participant at the intra-Afghan dialogue has emphasized girls’ access to education in Afghanistan.
The head of the Norwegian Refugee Council stressed the need for girls’ access to education in Afghanistan after his meeting with the Afghanistan delegation which was in Oslo, Norway for a three-day series of talks, as reported by Tolo News.
“The Taliban has not followed up on their promise that there also be secondary education for girls, this is… a red line for us. If we cannot educate girls, we cannot educate boys,” said Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Also Read
On the other hand, a delegation of the Taliban was led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The delegation held talks with the envoys of the European Union, officials from the US and other European countries as well as several international aid organizations including the meeting with the Norwegian Refugee Council’s chief.
The first day of the three-day talks was an intra-Afghan dialogue between the Islamic Emirate delegation and Afghan civil society members including seven women’s rights activists, six politicians and a high-profile journalist.
Earlier, in a meeting with the Afghanistan delegation Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said Wednesday on Twitter: “We brought up all the challenges we face in Afghanistan.”
“In our humanitarian talks with Taliban leaders in Oslo, they confirmed that education for girls on all levels will, at long last, resume this spring/March. We need to continue raising this in Kabul and in provinces to make it a reality,” said Jan Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
A participant at the intra-Afghan dialogue said that the Taliban’s delegation promised to allow girls’ access to education.
“They Taliban said that they have nothing to do with women’s rights to work and education and that all Afghans will have their rights,” she said, as reported by Tolo News.
23 million facing acute hunger
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on Thursday said that 23 million people in Afghanistan are facing acute hunger and called for the removal of economic bottlenecks that prevent the circulation of money into and within Afghanistan.
The NRC report said that the economic measures imposed on Afghanistan are preventing aid agencies from moving funds into and within the country, blocking emergency relief, reported Tolo News.
According to the report, it is impossible for the humanitarian organizations to help millions of in-need people with humanitarian assistance unless the US Department of Treasury and other donor agencies take actions towards enabling the banks to facilitate humanitarian financial transfers and support Afghanistan’s central bank to resume its core functions.
“The unresolved liquidity crisis is a key driver in what is becoming the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world. We recently called for USD 4.4 billion for starving Afghans – the biggest call of its kind in the history of humanitarian work. But unless the US Treasury and other Western financial authorities enable us to transfer the aid money, we will be forced to work with our hands tied, unable to get that money to the communities that desperately need it,” warned Jan Egeland, NRC’s Secretary-General, reported Tolo News.
The report further stated that while the licences issued by the US Department of Treasury and the exemption of sanctions by the UN on humanitarian assistance are good steps for supporting the people of Afghanistan but are not enough. (ANI)
ALSO READ: China scales back involvement in Africa
[soliloquy id="151345"]