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Turkey confirms Istanbul Conference to start on April 24

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Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday the Istanbul Conference will start on April 24 and run through to May 4.

In a statement issued by the ministry, Turkish officials stated Turkey, Qatar and the United Nations will co-convene the conference “between representatives of the islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban.”

The conference will be hosted by Turkey in Istanbul.

“The overriding objective of the Istanbul Conference on the Afghanistan Peace Process is to accelerate and complement the ongoing intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha on the achievement of a just and durable political settlement,” read the statement.

The ministry also said participation in the conference and its agenda have been the subject of extensive consultations with the Afghan parties.

“The conference will focus on helping the negotiating parties reach a set of shared, foundational principles that reflect and agreed vision for a future Afghanistan, a roadmap to a future political settlement and an end o the conflict.”

The ministry said it “is our expectation that the conference will provide an important opportunity for all partners to reiterate support for the people of Afghanistan on their path toward inclusive peace, stability, and prosperity.”

This comes just hours after Turkey’s Daily Sabah reported that sources from the ministry of foreign affairs said the start of the talks would likely be postponed until later this month.

All indications until now pointed towards talks starting later this week.

However, a Taliban spokesperson said Monday that the group would not attend the peace conference tentatively planned for later this week in Turkey, putting U.S. efforts to set in place a peace plan anytime soon in jeopardy.

A spokesperson for the Taliban's political office Mohammad Naeem said on Monday night that the group would however discuss whether to attend talks if they were set for a later date.

Naeem said attendance at the conference and the Blinken peace proposal were being discussed “and whenever the discussion is completed we will share our final decision.”

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IEA delegation attends conference for ‘Promoting Mining Cooperation’ in China

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The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said on Saturday in a statement that its delegation participated in a conference titled "Promoting Mining Cooperation" in China’s Hunan province.

The Ministry stated the conference aims to build a well-equipped laboratory in Afghanistan, increase the capacity of technical and professional employees of the Ministry of Mines, and encourage investors in the mineral resources sector of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Chinese investors expressed their interest in Afghanistan’s gold, copper, mica, talc, oil, gas, lithium, lead and zinc mines.

At the conference, the ministry’s deputy minister of finance and administration and head of the delegation Hussamuddin Saberi talked about Afghanistan's natural resources contracts and investment opportunities and considered holding such programs effective for the relations between the two countries.

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Uzbekistan, EU envoys meet to discuss Afghanistan

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Uzbekistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, Ismatulla Irgashev, on Friday met with the EU Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the current state and prospects of Uzbek-European relations in the Afghan direction, the efforts of the international community to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the country and the possibility of using the international transport and logistics hub in Termez to deliver humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Hakala highly appreciated the efforts of Uzbekistan to develop a consolidated regional position on Afghanistan, establish long-term peace and stability in the country, according to the statement.

The parties expressed mutual interest in continuing bilateral consultations on the Afghan issue, the statement added.

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UN expert calls for comprehensive, rights-focused action plan for Afghanistan

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A UN expert on Friday called on the international community to devise and implement a comprehensive, human rights-centered action plan to address the human rights crisis in Afghanistan.

“The absence of a unified, forceful response from the international community has emboldened the Taliban (IEA),” UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said.

In his latest report to the UN General Assembly, Bennett said that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is worsening, which includes systematic gender oppression, amounting to gender persecution and which many Afghans term “gender apartheid” with intergenerational implications.

Bennett expressed concern about the new “vice and virtue” law, announced in August, which he believes has institutionalized an expanding list of restrictions that “blatantly violate the rights of women and girls.”

He also expressed concern about the “shrinking civic space” in Afghanistan, the situation of minorities, journalists, and former government officials and security personnel.

“Justice, equality, and the rule of law are being systematically undermined,” he said.

The UN expert also called for increased funding and support for Afghan civil society and humanitarian efforts to mitigate the crisis.

Bennett urged the IEA to reverse its “repressive policies” and reinstate basic human rights. He pressed the international community to take a coordinated, multifaceted approach to support the Afghan people.

Bennett urged states not to normalize relations with the IEA until there are demonstrable human rights improvements and pathways to justice and accountability.

This comes as the Islamic Emirate has said that it is committed to ensuring human rights, including the rights of women and girls, according to Sharia, and this is an internal issue of Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate has banned Richard Bennett from traveling to Afghanistan, saying that he exaggerates small issues.

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