State Secretary Henrik Thune (AP) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will meet with the Taliban delegation on Tuesday. He plans to present concrete demands to the Islamists.
On Monday afternoon, Thune had meetings with representatives of the Afghan civil society and received input on demands that should be made.
“This is not the beginning of an open process. We will present measurable requirements that we can follow up and see if they deliver (on them),” Thune told NTB.
The Taliban will also meet with representatives from the Foreign Ministry at 10:30 AM. The topic of these talks will largely be the humanitarian situation in the country.
Later Tuesday, Norwegian humanitarian organizations will meet the Taliban delegation at the Soria Moria hotel in Oslo.
Schooling for girls
In addition to improving the economic situation and ensuring access to humanitarian aid, human rights are high on the agenda for the Taliban meetings in Oslo.
“There are several crucial issues related to the rights of minorities and women. We have talked a lot about school, but it is also about freedom of movement, access to health services, and the right to work. There are measurable elements that are crucial for many people in civil society who are participating in the meetings here in Oslo,” Thune said.
One of the demands is the right to education for girls. Specifically, schools must be reopened for girls after 7th grade when the school holidays are over in March.
Another is that an inclusive political process must be initiated. One suggestion is that it should happen through a so-called loya jirga, a legal assembly.
The Taliban and Norwegian diplomats have also discussed the position of two women activists, Zaryabi Paryani and Parwana Ibrahimkhel. The two are said to have been arrested last week after participating in a demonstration.
“Great risk”
Thune points out that several women activists who have come to Oslo to meet the Taliban are taking a big risk.
“Many of them have experienced direct brutality against their own family,” he said.
Nevertheless, he believes that they support the talks between the Western countries and the Taliban.
On Monday night, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked to carve out Norway’s demands in the meetings. Thune believes Norway has highly realistic expectations.
“Any positive process will at best have to be step-by-step,” he said.
“Meeting with the United States crucial”
The Taliban will also have a bilateral meeting with the United States, led by Special Envoy Thomas West. Thune describes the conversations as important.
“The US position will be crucial for the development (of the situation),” he said.
He points out that the Americans have control over much of the funds that were frozen after the Taliban took power in August.
The country’s residents are still receiving help through aid organizations, but the enormous foreign support that was previously given to the Afghan authorities has been blocked. It made up the bulk of the Afghan state budget.
Wages of public employees
One of the topics discussed among international donors is how to ensure that public employees, such as teachers, are paid, Thune noted. That is, how these salaries can be paid without going through Taliban-controlled offices.
“It does not help if girls get the right to go to school if there are no teachers,” Thune pointed out.
The government has received both support and criticism for facilitating meetings with the extremist group, which is notorious for its terrorist acts and oppression of women.
On Monday, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held a press conference. He described the meeting as an achievement and pointed out that it gave the Islamists “a stage.” Thune calls this a “rhetorical move.”
“It is inevitable when they come to a democratic country that they are allowed to speak freely,” Thune said.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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