UN: Millions of Afghans on the ‘verge of death'
The United Nations chief warns that millions of Afghans are on the “verge of death”, urging the international community to fund the UN’s US$5 billion ($7.3b) humanitarian appeal, release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and jump-start its banking system to avert economic and social collapse.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “freezing temperatures and frozen assets are a lethal combination for the people of Afghanistan”, and “rules and conditions that prevent money from being used to save lives and the economy must be suspended in this emergency situation”.
Afghanistan’s aid-dependent economy was already stumbling when the Taliban seized power in mid-August amid the chaotic departure of US and Nato troops after 20 years. The international community froze Afghanistan’s assets abroad and halted economic support, unwilling to work with the Taliban, given their reputation for brutality during their 1996-2001 rule and refusal to educate girls and allow women to work.
The UN says 8.7 million Afghans are on the brink of starvation and Guterres said it was critical to rapidly inject liquidity into the Afghan economy “and avoid a meltdown that would lead to poverty, hunger and destitution for millions”.
It’s “absolutely essential” to avoid a breakdown, he stressed, “because with the present situation you have Afghans on the verge of death”.
The secretary-general said the United States has “an important role to play because most of the financial system in the world operates in dollars” and the United States has frozen US$7 billion ($10.2b) in Afghan foreign reserves, mainly held in the US.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, are scheduled to hold a virtual meeting today with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Guterres said one reason for the meeting was to try and create “mechanisms that allow for an effective injection of funds into the Afghan economy and, at the same time, create the conditions for the financial system in Afghanistan to be able to operate in the local currency.”