UNHRC CALLS FOR HUMANITARIAN AID FOR 3.5 MILLION AFGHANS TO AVOID STARVATION
UN Human Rights Council has appealed to increase humanitarian support to 3.5 million people including 700,000 from 2021 alone who were displaced due to the conflict in Afghanistan, the United Nations body said in a statement.
Spokesperson of UNHCR Babar Baloch said on Friday that around 23 million people, or 55 per cent of the population, are facing extreme levels of hunger - nearly nine million of whom are at risk of famine. UNHCR has assisted some 700,000 displaced people across the country in 2021, the majority since midaugust. Every week, the agency is helping nearly 60,000 people, according to the statement.
“But as we reach thousands of people, we find thousands more people who are in need of humanitarian assistance”, Baloch said, appealing for “further resources for the most vulnerable”.
He noted that “single mothers with no shelter or food for their children”, displaced older persons left to care for orphaned grandchildren, and people taking care of loved ones with special needs.
Reminding the Human Rights Council of the various resolutions on the safety of journalists adopted in recent years, the experts called for expedited visas, assistance with evacuation, and open borders for those who wish to leave Afghanistan.
After the Taliban took over, the economic crisis has worsened with the freezing of Afghan assets and shortage of humanitarian assistance to the people of the country. Afghanistan is facing the brunt of a severe economic crisis, reported Tolonews.
“The Islamic Emirate doesn’t have good relations with the UN and therefore the UN is concerned about the aid and stresses it should be directly handed over to the vulnerable people,” a university instructor said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign minister called on Saturday for a fresh effort to stop neighbouring Afghanistan sliding further into crisis as he announced an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) later this month.
The meeting of foreign ministers from Islamic countries will be held in Islamabad on Dec. 19, with delegations from the European Union and the so-called P5 group of the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China also invited.
“To abandon Afghanistan at this stage would be a historic mistake,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi told a news conference in Islamabad, warning that half the country was facing the risk of starvation that could trigger further chaos.
Pakistan recently agreed to allow 50,000 tonnes of wheat to transit through its territory from India to help Afghanistan but aid agencies have warned that much more help is urgently needed.