UN ENVOY DEBORAH LYONS MEETS WITH TALIBAN OFFICIALS

Wed 15 September 2021:

Deborah Lyons, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Special Representative for Afghanistan on September 15 met with Siraj Haqqani, the Taliban-led government’s interior minister of Afghanistan, to discuss the safety of humanitarian staff working in the country, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement.

“UN envoy Deborah Lyons (and) the Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security today met Siraj Haqqani, stressing the absolute necessity for all UN (and) humanitarian personnel in Afghanistan to be able to work without intimidation or obstruction to deliver vital aid (and) conduct work for Afghan people,” UNAMA said via Twitter.

In the meeting, the officials also addressed the issue of mutual trust to improve the situation in Afghanistan, especially in restarting the economy, ensuring that civil servants and health workers are paid and that medicines and food are reaching Afghans in need.

Before heading back to Kabul, Lyons met in Doha, Qatar, with Afghan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai. The officials discussed the urgent need for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, the importance of an inclusive government and the country’s ability to respond to the economic challenges, UNAMA said.

Guterres announced $20 mn from UN CERF

Earlier, on September 13, the UN Secretary-General announced a $20 million allocation from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (UN CERF) to support the humanitarian operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban control.

Today, United Nations Secretary-General @antonioguterres announced a $20 million allocation from @UNCERF to get life-saving humanitarian aid to the people of #Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/YO3GTCEUJk

— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) September 13, 2021

He also called on the members to help and “boost humanitarian access, including the airbridge with Kabul and other hubs in Afghanistan.” The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) established an airbridge from Islamabad into Kandahar, Mazar and Herat, with operations up and running since the end of August.

_____________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent