KABUL — Taliban have requested assistance from the United Nations in securing control of Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions in Europe, according to a statement released by the Taliban’s foreign ministry.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s acting foreign minister, raised the issue during a meeting in Kabul with Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). He reportedly asked the U.N. to facilitate Taliban access to Afghanistan’s embassies across European countries.
According to the statement, the request was framed as a means to provide “consular services” to Afghan nationals living abroad and to “defend their human rights.”
Muttaqi also urged the U.N. to ensure that its reports on Afghanistan reflect what he described as “today’s realities” under Taliban rule.
In response, Otunbayeva said the United Nations would remain engaged with the Afghan people and would work to support the reintegration of returnees by helping to create job opportunities and improve livelihoods, the Taliban statement said.
UNAMA has not yet issued its own account of the meeting.
Taliban further claimed that Otunbayeva agreed to convey their message to the international community during an upcoming United Nations Security Council session on Afghanistan, scheduled for June 22.
According to U.N. documents, that session will include briefings by Ms. Otunbayeva, a representative of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and a civil society activist from Afghanistan.
No country has formally recognized the Taliban government since it seized power in August 2021. The Taliban’s restrictions on women’s rights, education, and employment remain key obstacles to international legitimacy.
Over the past four years, the Taliban have imposed sweeping bans on women’s participation in public life, barring them from attending schools and universities, working with non-governmental organizations, or receiving medical education.
The international community continues to call for the restoration of basic rights for women and girls as a prerequisite for engagement. Taliban have so far resisted these demands, maintaining that their policies are consistent with their interpretation of Islamic principles.
