Western participants of the Oslo summit who met with representatives of the Islamic Emirate as well as representatives of Afghan civil society issued a statement calling for urgent action to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and underlined the measures needed to help alleviate the suffering of Afghans across the country.

The statement, released by the US State Department, was made by the special representatives and other envoys and officials of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Kingdom United and United States, which met in Oslo on 24 January. 2022, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

According to the statement, all participants stressed the importance of respect for human rights and the imperative need for an inclusive and representative political system to ensure stability and a peaceful future for Afghanistan.

They also urged the Islamic Emirate to do more to stop the “alarming increase” in human rights abuses. They reaffirmed their hope that the Islamic Emirate will honor its commitments in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.

EU Special Envoy Tomas Niklasson responded to a TOLOnews article quoting Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Muttaqi said the international community has yet to define an “inclusive government”, and to that Niklasson tweeted: “It is not the task of the international community to define an inclusive Afghan government. It is up to all adult Afghan men and women to do so. Through transparent processes – over which they also had a say – and with respect for their rights. Perhaps a recipe for national legitimacy?”

The joint statement also noted with “serious concern” the lack of secondary schools for girls in many parts of the country and the limitations of access to them and stressed the importance of higher education for women as well as employment opportunities for women in all fields.

“(Representatives) listened carefully and with concern to the assessments of Afghan women and other civil society actors on the current situation in Afghanistan, including the human rights environment (especially women’s rights ), as well as descriptions of the serious economic problems and social challenges facing the country,” the statement read.

The representatives of these countries have declared that these meetings are not a sign of recognition.

They “made it clear that their meetings with the Taliban did not in any way imply any sense of official recognition or legitimization of the interim government announced by the Taliban in September 2021,” the statement read.

The special representatives of the aforementioned countries noted that their governments were expanding relief operations, helping to prevent the collapse of social services and supporting the revival of the Afghan economy.