'Not Based on Legal Rules': Taliban Slams UN Committee’s Decision to Deny it Representation at UN

The UN Credentials Committee is in charge of accrediting representatives of member states at the General Assembly. It does so on a consensus basis after tabling its proposal in the General Assembly. The committee is led by Sweden and also comprises the Bahamas, Bhutan, Chile, China, Namibia, Russia, Sierra Leone, and the US.

Taliban’s UN ambassador-designate Suhail Shaheen has scorned the United Nations Credentials Committee for depriving the people of Afghanistan of their “legitimate right."

His comments come a day after the nine-member grouping rejected a consideration to replace the Ashraf Ghani-era representative with that of the Islamist group’s.

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We hope that this right is handed over to the representative of the government of Afghanistan in the near future so that we can be in a position to resolve issues of the people of Afghanistan effectively and efficiently and maintain positive interaction with the world.

— Suhail Shaheen. محمد سهیل شاهین (@suhailshaheen1) December 2, 2021

Karin Enestrom, the Swedish ambassador to the United Nations (UN) and the current chair of the committee, said on Tuesday that the committee members met to “consider credentials” of the member states.

“The committee has decided to defer its decision of credentials in these two situations,” she said, referring to the decision of not allowing the Taliban and Myanmar’s military junta to have representation at the UN.

“The report of the committee will be made public once it is issued, for the consideration of the General Assembly,” added Enestrom.

Both Afghanistan and Myanmar are currently represented at the UN General Assembly by the ambassadors appointed by their previous governments.

While the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in August and announced its interim cabinet in September, the government is still to be recognised by other countries.

Ghulam Isaczai, Afghanistan’s sitting ambassador to the UN, hailed the UN Committee’s decision and expressed hope that the tri-colour flag of the erstwhile Islamic Republic would continue to fly at the UN.

The Taliban, which has a white flag with a black Arabic inscription, has been calling for diplomatic recognition from other nations to ease the existing humanitarian crisis by allowing the channelling of much-required funds from foreign governments and agencies.

Recognition by the UN would be a step in the direction of getting diplomatic recognition from other nations as well.

The UN-backed World Food Programme (WFP), as well as major agencies, have warned that a large section of Afghanistan’s population is in the throes of a food crisis, a situation that could get worse as winter sets in.

Taliban’s interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met Tom West, the US special representative for Afghanistan, in Doha on 30 November and urged Washington to unfreeze Kabul’s federal assets held in US-based financial institutions.

IEA delegation led by the Afghan Foreign Minister H.E. Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi held two-day detailed discussions with US Special Representative for Afghanistan Mr. Tom West & accompanying senior interagency delegation.

The sides talked & exchanged views about political, pic.twitter.com/S7xav9F1qm

— Abdul Qahar Balkhi (@QaharBalkhi) November 30, 2021

The US Treasury froze nearly $9.5 billion of Afghanistan’s assets held in American financial institutions in August.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also withheld any new payments to Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover.

The US says that it wants the Taliban to come good on its commitments made in the Doha Deal of February 2020, including representation of women and minorities in the new government and respecting the rights of all ethnic groups.

The calls for having an “inclusive government” in Afghanistan have been backed by other major powers, including Russia and China.

In the case of Myanmar, a military junta overthrew the democratically-elected government of then-Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi this year.

The 193-member UN General Assembly condemned the coup by a unanimous vote in June this year and also called for the release of the former leadership, including Suu Kyi.

*The Taliban is an organisation under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.