Swiss officials to meet Taliban delegation in Geneva

Aid organisations have warned of a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan if they can't get access to people in need and if western government continue their sanctions against the Taliban. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Right Reserved

The Swiss foreign ministry plans to hold talks with a delegation of Afghanistan’s Taliban government on a visit to the Swiss city of Geneva.

The meeting is expected to take place later this week, a spokeswoman of the Swiss Mission to the United Nations in Geneva told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Tuesday.

She added that representatives of the Swiss government’s development aid agency and human rights experts would participate.

The planned talks were neither meant to provide legitimacy or diplomatic recognition of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, she added.

So far, the Islamist group hasn’t been recognised as the legitimate government since it took power in Afghanistan last August. They are facing demands by western nations to guarantee human rights and improve the protection of women and children.

Closed-door meetings in Geneva are reportedly also scheduled with representatives of other countries and with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), according to Switzerland’s RTS public broadcaster.

The Taliban delegation arrived in Geneva on Sunday upon invitation by a non-governmental international organisation, Geneva CallExternal link, which promotes the respect of humanitarian principles by armed non-State actors.

Last month, Taliban representatives travelled to Norway for talks with members of several western governments.

Aid organisations have warned of a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan and urged western governments to lift economic sanctions against the Taliban.