A group of human rights activists have accused the United Nations of normalising interactions with the Taliban in a recently released statement.

They stated that the exclusion of women and civil activists from the third Doha meeting has strengthened the Taliban's position and encouraged systematic human rights violations and gender apartheid.

In their statement, the human rights activists described the outcome of the Doha meeting as "rubbing salt into their wounds," adding, "The deliberate exclusion of women from the official meeting due to the demands of Taliban officials indicates an astonishing disregard for human rights and women's rights by the organisers of this conference."

They also characterised the meeting with women and civil society representatives on the sidelines of the Doha meeting as "performative, ineffective, and lacking transparency," noting that special representatives from various countries did not participate.

The human rights activists have called on the United Nations to include women and civil society groups in all political processes related to Afghanistan and to ensure that human rights and women's rights do not become bargaining tools for the Taliban.

In their statement, they also demanded the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2721 and the appointment of a special representative for Afghanistan.