Thu 23 December 2021:
On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution exempting the Taliban from sanctions in order to facilitate humanitarian relief in Afghanistan.
The 15-member council unanimously endorsed the resolution proposed by the United States.
The resolution said “payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources, and the provision of goods and services necessary to ensure the timely delivery of such assistance or to support such activities are permitted.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki welcomed the UN resolution, noting that it was drafted by the United States.
“The resolution also requests periodic updates by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator to ensure assistance is reaching the intended beneficiaries,” she said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also voiced support for the UN measure and the Treasury’s authorisations.
“UN sanctions are an important tool to respond to threats and human rights abuses, but we must make sure these sanctions do not hinder the delivery of urgently needed aid to the Afghan people,” he said in a statement.
According to the resolution, humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan, processing and payments of funds that will not violate sanctions against the Taliban and use of financial assets and economic resources will be permitted.
US Ambassador to UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield welcomed the adoption of the resolution, saying it “puts in place an exemption to @UN sanctions in Afghanistan for humanitarian aid and activities supporting basic human needs.”
“I applaud the #UNSC for unanimously voting for this carveout, which is desperately needed by the humanitarian community in Afghanistan,” she wrote on Twitter.
Barbara Woodward, the UK’s envoy to the UN, said the resolution “will help save lives by ensuring that 1988 sanctions regime poses no obstacle to provision of humanitarian assistance.”
According to the UN, 24 million people require life-saving assistance in Afghanistan whose economic collapse “is happening before our eyes.”
The Taliban captured Kabul from the US-backed government of former President Ashraf Ghani amid the withdrawal of American troops from the country after a 20-year war.
The international community quickly moved to freeze the Afghan government’s assets, so the Taliban would not gain access to the funds. Washington froze nearly $9.5bn in Afghan assets in August.
Many aid groups and investors also fled the country after the Taliban’s victory. The turmoil prompted a debilitating shortage of funds in Afghanistan.
Last week, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) pledged to set up a humanitarian trust fund to combat hunger and poverty in Afghanistan.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
_____________________________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
