Washington/New York: Can’t get enough cash at the UN Afghanistan UN officials said it is struggling to develop alternatives to provide humanitarian aid to millions of people on the brink of starvation and to help stabilize the crumbling economy.
An eventual political solution is needed, a senior UN official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, an apparent reference to sanctions relief and freeing up billions of dollars of Afghan wealth held abroad for governments and institutions.
Meanwhile, UN agencies are scrambling to find ways to bring large amounts of US dollars into Afghanistan to deal with the liquidity crisis that has been thrust since the Taliban toppled the Western-backed government in August. is holding. The UN official shared with Reuters some of the options being suggested.
The official said deliveries of US dollars to Afghanistan have stopped as Islamist militants have seized power and the United Nations may have to fill the gap if countries or international financial institutions do not act.
One suggested option is using the Afghanistan International Bank, which can bring in and store money, but has insurance issues, the UN official said.
The official said the UN also knows that no one option will work and that multiple avenues are needed to bring enough cash to Afghanistan.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres The International Monetary Fund has called on the International Monetary Fund to agree on a waiver or mechanism for receiving funds into Afghanistan. The IMF has blocked the Taliban from accessing about $440 million in new emergency reserves.
Most of the $10 billion foreign assets of the Afghan central bank have also been frozen, most of it in the United States. The US Treasury has said it has no plans to release the money.
“We need to work together to get the economy breathing again and help people survive,” Guterres said on Wednesday. “Liquidity can be injected into the Afghan economy without compromising international laws or principles.”
Flying in money is not on the table yet
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that Afghanistan’s economy is on the verge of collapse and could exacerbate the refugee crisis.
When asked about the UN’s efforts to bring cash to Afghanistan, Mary-Ellen McGortyhandjob head world food program in Afghanistan, told reporters on Tuesday: “The United Nations is collectively looking at what possible solutions we might have, but the flight of money to the country is not yet on the table.”
“What we are using at the moment is the limited liquidity that the country has,” she said. “But the longer this goes on, we are finding that it is becoming more and more difficult.”
About 8.7 million people are “one step away from starvation,” McGarty said, “a tsunami of deprivation, incredible suffering and hunger spiraling out of control.”
The Taliban is facing increasing international pressure for an inclusive and representative Afghan government to uphold human rights, especially those of women and girls, in exchange for international recognition and freeing up aid and reserves.
Donors and organizations are also trying to avoid defiance of the United Nations and unilateral sanctions on the Taliban.
“The United Nations is urging countries to provide humanitarian financial exemptions to reach aid organizations in the country,” a UN spokesman said. Stephen Dujarric, without naming.
Dujarric told Reuters that UN agencies and aid groups are currently using informal money-handling networks – known as hawalas – to pay employees’ wages in banks and other small-scale But a small amount of cash is used for purchases.
“These modalities are not sufficient for large-scale operations, although cash payments or cash assistance are required in the country,” it said. Dujarric, adding that the United Nations was talking to international financial institutions to find a solution that would expand aid operations.
A key part of the United Nations’ plan to pump money into Afghanistan is to provide cash directly to poor Afghan families.
An eventual political solution is needed, a senior UN official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, an apparent reference to sanctions relief and freeing up billions of dollars of Afghan wealth held abroad for governments and institutions.
Meanwhile, UN agencies are scrambling to find ways to bring large amounts of US dollars into Afghanistan to deal with the liquidity crisis that has been thrust since the Taliban toppled the Western-backed government in August. is holding. The UN official shared with Reuters some of the options being suggested.
The official said deliveries of US dollars to Afghanistan have stopped as Islamist militants have seized power and the United Nations may have to fill the gap if countries or international financial institutions do not act.
One suggested option is using the Afghanistan International Bank, which can bring in and store money, but has insurance issues, the UN official said.
The official said the UN also knows that no one option will work and that multiple avenues are needed to bring enough cash to Afghanistan.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres The International Monetary Fund has called on the International Monetary Fund to agree on a waiver or mechanism for receiving funds into Afghanistan. The IMF has blocked the Taliban from accessing about $440 million in new emergency reserves.
Most of the $10 billion foreign assets of the Afghan central bank have also been frozen, most of it in the United States. The US Treasury has said it has no plans to release the money.
“We need to work together to get the economy breathing again and help people survive,” Guterres said on Wednesday. “Liquidity can be injected into the Afghan economy without compromising international laws or principles.”
Flying in money is not on the table yet
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that Afghanistan’s economy is on the verge of collapse and could exacerbate the refugee crisis.
When asked about the UN’s efforts to bring cash to Afghanistan, Mary-Ellen McGortyhandjob head world food program in Afghanistan, told reporters on Tuesday: “The United Nations is collectively looking at what possible solutions we might have, but the flight of money to the country is not yet on the table.”
“What we are using at the moment is the limited liquidity that the country has,” she said. “But the longer this goes on, we are finding that it is becoming more and more difficult.”
About 8.7 million people are “one step away from starvation,” McGarty said, “a tsunami of deprivation, incredible suffering and hunger spiraling out of control.”
The Taliban is facing increasing international pressure for an inclusive and representative Afghan government to uphold human rights, especially those of women and girls, in exchange for international recognition and freeing up aid and reserves.
Donors and organizations are also trying to avoid defiance of the United Nations and unilateral sanctions on the Taliban.
“The United Nations is urging countries to provide humanitarian financial exemptions to reach aid organizations in the country,” a UN spokesman said. Stephen Dujarric, without naming.
Dujarric told Reuters that UN agencies and aid groups are currently using informal money-handling networks – known as hawalas – to pay employees’ wages in banks and other small-scale But a small amount of cash is used for purchases.
“These modalities are not sufficient for large-scale operations, although cash payments or cash assistance are required in the country,” it said. Dujarric, adding that the United Nations was talking to international financial institutions to find a solution that would expand aid operations.
A key part of the United Nations’ plan to pump money into Afghanistan is to provide cash directly to poor Afghan families.
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