United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has clarified that the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan are not invited to the upcoming international meeting in Doha, Qatar, this week. This follows the UN's comments the week before, stressing that the upcoming meeting in Qatar will not focus on international recognition of the Taliban.

A spokesperson for the UN said on Friday last week that Guterres had not invited the Taliban authorities of Afghanistan to the upcoming meeting this week among envoys of various countries in Doha. The gathering will focus on reviving "international engagement around the common objectives for a durable way forward on…Afghanistan," said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

The Taliban seized power in August 2021, but since taking power in Afghanistan, the group has introduced policies that restrict women's rights. The UN General Assembly postponed a decision on whether to formally recognize the Taliban administration of Afghanistan for the second time in December 2021.

The UN Security Council last week unanimously condemned the Taliban's barring of Afghan women from working for the international body. The resolution was drafted by the United Arab Emirates and Japan and described the insurgent group's latest ban as "unprecedented in the history of the United Nations."

UAE ambassador to the UN Lana Nusseibeh said that the resolution was co-sponsored by over 90 countries "from Afghanistan's immediate neighborhood, from the Muslim world, and from all corners of the earth."