For the third consecutive year, Afghanistan has been excluded from UN climate talks amid the country’s escalating drought and flood crises, according to Reuters on Monday.
Heavy rains led to flash floods this year in Afghanistan, a country highly susceptible to climate change, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people. These floods devastated areas already suffering from drought earlier this year.
Despite the ongoing climate crisis, Afghanistan is notably missing from the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. This absence has been a trend since the Taliban seised control of Kabul in 2021.
No foreign government has formally approved Taliban leadership, and they do not have representation in the U.N. General Assembly.
The Taliban’s limitations on women, especially their prohibition of girls and women from attending high schools and universities, have been pointed out by foreign officials as the cause for their current exclusion.
According to Reuters, humanitarian and international officials have tried to enable Afghan delegates to participate this year. This effort aligns with wider discussions among foreign governments and multilateral organisations on how to interact with the Taliban.
“There’s hope that maybe next year you might see engagement with Afghanistan in some capacity again,” said Qiyamud Din Ikram of the nonprofit Refugees International on the sidelines of the COP28 summit.
Paul Klouman Bekken, Norway’s charge d’affaires for Afghanistan, who regularly meets Taliban officials in Kabul, said “conversations with the Taliban on climate change adaptation could potentially be a confidence building measure.”
Roza Otunbayeva, the leader of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, described the current situation as “unsustainable.” “It is time to think creatively to ensure that in one year’s time we are not approaching COP29 with yet another statement on Afghanistan’s absence.” Otunbayeva added.
