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The international community in doubt about the recognition of the Taliban

2021-09-24T10:53:56.203Z


The question has arisen, more or less officially, since August 15, but this week it took on an additional echo: the community ...


The question has arisen, more or less officially, since August 15, but it has taken on an additional echo this week: the international community is wondering about the relevance of recognizing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Should they be integrated into large international organizations to force them to evolve?

On the contrary, is it appropriate to negotiate a gradual normalization and unblocking of financial obstacles, against strong political acts?

The debate erupted in full light at the United Nations General Assembly which is being held until Monday in New York.

The Taliban have asked to speak on behalf of Afghanistan.

But the ambassador of the former ousted government claims to represent his country.

Read also The Taliban asked to address the UN Assembly on behalf of Afghanistan

A

Taliban

“show”

“would do nothing,”

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday.

"The United Nations General Assembly is not the appropriate framework for this,"

he said.

“We have to talk with the Taliban.

There are multiple channels for this that have been put in place in recent weeks ”

.

The UN should not decide immediately.

An American source at the UN told AFP that the Organization's accreditation commission would not meet until November.

“At some point, the Taliban will have to make a choice between money and normalization, or absolute isolation,”

summed up a European diplomat last week on condition of anonymity.

“We're like Saint-Thomas.

We see if it works.

Today, it does not work ”.

"Nobody is in a hurry"

Even the closest objective allies of the Taliban are delaying their response.

"No one is in a hurry to recognize"

the Taliban, said Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

"They must be more sensitive and more receptive to international opinion."

Qatar, a major intermediary between the new masters of Kabul and the West, holds a similar discourse.

As for China, it maintains a cautious position for the time being but would have many interests in designating legitimate and official interlocutors in Kabul.

"Even if Beijing fails to trust the Taliban, it should not wait much longer before officially recognizing them

,

"

wrote Derek Grossman of the Rand Corporation in Washington in early September, saying in particular that this

"would contribute to the idea that it is Beijing and no longer Washington which (...) draws the future regional order ”.

Read alsoWith the new masters of Kabul, our report at the heart of the Taliban power

In the meantime, no one takes the first step. Markus Kaim of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), recalls that the West has little choice, however, after losing in Afghanistan its status as a hegemonic power in a disastrous departure.

"In such a situation, the political conditions cannot be dictated",

estimates the researcher. The declarations of the chanceries on the levers still at their disposal

"camouflage their lack of power".

The West still retains some tools to put pressure on Kabul.

Many Afghan bank accounts held abroad have been frozen.

And as of August 18, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suspended aid to Afghanistan

"until there is clarity within the international community on the recognition of the government"

.

"Targeted measures"

The question is all the more burning as the country is heading towards a dramatic winter on the humanitarian level.

The Taliban themselves had not imagined taking power so quickly and some central functions of the Afghan state have not fully restarted.

Hence the middle position advocated by the United Nations.

On September 10, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres recalled the possibility of granting Kabul

“financial instruments”,

independently of the UN and American sanctions in progress.

"I am not talking about the lifting of sanctions or recognition, I am talking about targeted measures to allow the Afghan economy to breathe."

Read also In Afghanistan, the Taliban stage their vision of women

More recently, High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi found it necessary to talk to the Taliban.

"It is through dialogue that we can ensure the effectiveness of our

humanitarian

deliveries,"

the Italian told the BBC.

"We could also create a space in which to raise more complex issues - rights, minorities, women, education."

For their part, the Taliban are trying to seduce their neighbors, whose strategic interests they share, particularly in terms of trade routes, infrastructure and energy policy.

These countries

"adopt a consolidated regional vision on Afghanistan,"

said Amina Khan of the Institute for Strategic Studies in Islamabad (ISSI) in this regard.

"The region wants to play a more important role (on the subject) and discuss with the Taliban," she

adds.

The latter will have to respect their promises, in particular to prevent terrorist groups from attacking Pakistan, Russia and China.

In which case

"we will certainly see the countries of the region play a much more decisive role".

During their previous coming to power between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban had not been accredited by the UN.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-09-24

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