U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded for the world to unite as one Thursday and engage the Taliban in dialogue that included a “feeling” of solidarity with the Afghan people now ruled by the hardline Islamic terrorist group.
The call for talks and more talks came 24-hours after the globalist said the Taliban needs U.N. humanitarian aid as an “entry point” for future negotiations.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP), the veteran Portuguese socialist maintained compassion and caring were the keys to ensuring female rights were respected as they chart a future in the new Islamic Caliphate of Afghanistan.
If they are considered, then “peace and stability, with the rights of the people respected” can guarantee a future for the war-torn country which suffered under the Taliban’s brutal first stretch of rule from 1996 to 2001, Guterres affirmed.
Afghan women take part in a protest march for their rights under the Taliban rule in the downtown area of Kabul on September 3, 2021. (HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images)
“We must maintain a dialogue with the Taliban, where we affirm our principles directly — a dialogue with a feeling of solidarity with the Afghan people,” he said.
“Our duty is to extend our solidarity to a people who suffer greatly, where millions and millions risk dying of hunger,” added the secretary-general.
Calling for an end to inequality is nothing new to Guterres on the public stage, where has has previously demanded a more equal distribution of public power to benefit women.
Guterres said there were “no guarantees” about discussions with the Taliban but they must go ahead “if we want Afghanistan not to be a center of terrorism, if we want women and girls to not lose all the rights acquired during the previous period, if we want different ethnic groups to be able to feel represented.”
“Until now, in the discussions that we have had, there is at least a receptivity to talk,” he added in the AFP interview.
Afghan protesters carry a coffin containing a decapitated body of one of seven Shiite Muslim Hazaras, including four men, two women and one child, during a demonstration in Kabul on November 11, 2015. They chanted death slogans to the Taliban and the Islamic State group while demanding justice and protection from the government. (SHAH MARAI/AFP via Getty Images)
Guterres has previously addressed the crisis in Afghanistan by appealing for the world to send money and stave off a humanitarian catastrophe, as Breitbart News reported.
“I urge all member states to dig deep for the people of Afghanistan in their darkest hour of need,” he said in a statement. “I urge them to provide timely, flexible and comprehensive funding. I urge them to help ensure humanitarian workers have the funding, access and legal safeguards they need to stay and deliver.”
AFP contributed to this report