Afghan Taliban representatives will participate in the upcoming United Nations climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, marking their first attendance since seizing control in 2021, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry. The COP29 summit is one of the highest-profile international events attended by Taliban officials since they took over after two decades of conflict with NATO-backed forces.
Despite their attendance, the Taliban has not been allowed to represent Afghanistan at the U.N. General Assembly, as the international community does not formally recognize their government, primarily due to their limitations on women’s education and freedom of movement.
Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi confirmed that officials from the National Environmental Protection Agency have arrived in Azerbaijan for COP29. The Taliban took control of this agency after the withdrawal of U.S. forces.
While Taliban officials have participated in various U.N.-organized discussions related to Afghanistan and attended forums in China and Central Asia, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change has been hesitant to allow Afghanistan a role in climate negotiations since 2021, effectively sidelining the country.
Although Afghan NGOs have struggled to take part in climate discussions in recent years, Azerbaijan invited the Taliban’s environmental officials to COP29 as observers, giving them the opportunity to engage in side discussions and possibly hold bilateral meetings. However, since the Taliban are not recognized as Afghanistan’s legitimate government by the U.N., these officials cannot obtain credentials to participate fully in the proceedings.
The Taliban’s government has faced criticism for its restrictions on women, including shutting down schools and universities for female students above the age of 12. They have implemented strict morality laws this year, which mandate women to cover their faces in public and travel only with a male guardian. The Taliban asserts that they uphold women’s rights as per their interpretation of Islamic law.
Afghanistan is one of the nations most severely impacted by climate change. This year, flash floods have resulted in numerous fatalities, and the country is experiencing one of the worst droughts in decades, creating deep food insecurity for many subsistence farmers who constitute a large portion of the population.
Some advocates argue that the international community’s isolation of the Taliban is detrimental to the Afghan people. Habib Mayar, deputy general secretary of the g7+ group, stated, “Afghanistan is one of the countries that is really left behind on the needs that it has.” He emphasized the dual burden faced by its citizens: a lack of international support amidst rising humanitarian needs.
