Humanitarian aid on agenda as Taliban officials land in Geneva

The Taliban delegation is in Geneva for talks with Swiss officials and NGOs about humanitarian access and human rights, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The delegation from the new Afghan ruler will hold talks with the Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations in Swiss City, which is also home to several UN agencies.

Members of the delegation will discuss around humanitarian access to a population in need, the protection of humanitarian actors and respect for human rights, “Foreign Ministry spokesman told the AFP news agency.

“Child protection during conflict and land management contaminated by the mine is also a conference agenda, which takes place in secret settings.”

The spokesman said that the Swiss Ministry representative would fulfill the delegation this week.

However, he stressed that the presence of their delegation in the Swiss “did not represent the legitimization or recognition of Taliban”.

The Swiss ATS news agency reported that the delegation was led by Latifullah Judii and the figure of around 10 people.

Judge is a senior official at the Taliban Defense Ministry. He headed a commission formed by the Taliban government to identify members who catapulted group rules.

Representatives from the Swiss Agency for the development and cooperation, the Division of Peace and Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Asian and Pacific Division will also fulfill the delegation this week.

Afghanistan faces complex emergency situations due to armed conflict, Covid-19 and socio-economic consequences, and extreme weather conditions, “said Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Today, 23 million Afghans are at risk of malnutrition and most of the population lives below the poverty line.”

Because the Taliban confiscated control in mid-August because the United States ended the 20-year war in Afghanistan, the country had plunged into financial chaos, with inflation and unemployed soaring.

Stopping assistance and sanctions after the Taliban takeover has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, which has been destroyed in the decade of war.

Throssell said it was not clear that had taken the women and recorded Taliban officials to deny involvement.

Asked to respond, a spokesman for the Taliban administration Bilal Karimi said, “Still we are investigating and trying to find information.”