humanitarian situation in afghanistan

UN Security Council members should take immediate steps to ensure that legitimate financial transactions related to humanitarian activities and the provision of other essential goods and services are excluded from the scope of UN sanctions. The United States froze $9 billion in assets belonging to the central bank, so the bank doesnt have enough liquid funds to meet withdrawal demands. Movement Restrictions on Rights Activists in Vietnam, Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in 90 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice. Humanitarian Funds are set up for complex emergencies and support the highest-priority projects of the best-placed responders (including international and national NGOs and UN agencies) through an inclusive and transparent process that supports priorities set out in Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs). KABUL: A child stands in a neighborhood where internally displaced people have been living for years. The Taliban should cooperate in allowing these shipments, allowing deposits into independent private banks, and permitting the UN to use the funds independently and without interference. Private banks therefore lack adequate local currency to cover withdrawals, have few or no dollars in cash, and without significant assets on deposit, are unable to extend credit. Even when funds are transmitted electronically into banks, to pay for humanitarian operations, wages, or remittances, banks lack of physical cash means that funds cannot be withdrawn. Read our one-page fact sheet on immediate actions for the Biden administration and world leaders. The $3.5 billion that the administration set aside formally belongs to the Afghan Central Bank and technically can be withdrawn at any time and used by the bank for transactions or activities for the benefit of the Afghan people, providing an accredited official of the bank was recognized by the US as authorized to do so. Taliban restrictions including requiring that women be escorted to health appointments by male family members and bans on male healthcare professionals treating women are further compromising womens access to health care. Humanitarian organizations, Afghan banking officials, and private actors have told Human Rights Watch that although some major transactions involving long-recognized accounts have now resumed, many electronic settling transactions continue to be blocked. by Lindsay Maizland July 12, 2022 Even the small batches of paper currency currently sent into the country on UN flights are losing as much as 10 percent in transactional costs, insurance, and fees, and perhaps more. The International Monetary Fund has estimated that the Afghan economy could contract by up to 30 percent. WRCs Stephanie Johanssen provided a statement at the United Nations High-Level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan. Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program. July 20, 2022, Cooling the Planet Through Solar Reflection, Webinar There are no sanctions against Afghanistan itself, its government, or any governmental entities. The following donors contributed earmarked funding for this year. The US, along with other governments, should immediately undertake sanctions policy reviews, adjust current measures accordingly, and issue new licenses and guidance to facilitate liquidity and availability of paper currency to address the humanitarian crisis. The abrupt cuts of World Bank-programs caused a massive drop in purchasing power across the country and had major impacts on both household and macroeconomic levels. HELMAND PROVINCE: Thousands of internally displaced people, including the family of thirteen-year-old Abdul*, have returned to their homes in recent months but lack the resources to rebuild. US law does not allow plaintiffs to obtain a countrys central bank assets as damages for a judgment unless the government for which it is a central bank is a terrorist, terrorist organization, or a designated state sponsor of terrorism. The state of Afghanistan is not designated as any of these entities. As a college-educated woman and human rights advocate, the 23-year-old was. Since August, more than four out of five Afghan households have experienced significant decreases or elimination in income. At the same time, given the slow speed of existing litigation, there is little likelihood of any immediate decision concerning the $3.5 billion that remains blocked. At the same time, Afghanistans deepening economic and humanitarian crises are already massively detrimental to Afghans basic rights to food, to health care, and increasingly to life and the situation continues to worsen. Can increasing foreign assistance end the humanitarian crisis? Many hospitals for COVID-19 patients lost international support after the Taliban took power. Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3)nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808. This video examines where Afghan refugees have gone. Afghanistan: Emergency Earthquake Response Plan (July - Sept Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan 2022 (January 2022), Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs Overview 2022 (January 2022), Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs Overview 2021 (December 2020), Daily Noon Briefing Highlights: Afghanistan. But more than one thousand facilities are not being supported, including a majority of hospitals for COVID-19 patients. Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures, Backgrounder In an article in USA Today, Gayatri Patel, WRCs vice president for external relations, describes the urgent need to protect womens rights defenders in Afghanistan. A US Treasury license and new guidance issued February 25, 2022, technically authorizes transactions with the Central Bank. Recent developments and political upheaval have exacerbated needs and further complicated an extremely challenging operational context. It then authorized transfers of that money to any account or entity or body using it for the benefit of the Afghan people and for Afghanistans future, including World Bank trust funds; other trust accounts; a United Nations fund, programme, specialized agency; or any other entity or body. The administration later acknowledged that other entities or bodies includes the Central Bank itself in other words, its own ledger in Afghanistan or at its own bank accounts in other countries. The Afghanistan country director of Save the Children said in mid-February: Ive never seen anything like the desperate situation we have here in Afghanistan. Donations are deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations. As Save the Childrens country director said: There is no shortage of food here the markets are full. The recent economic actions against the Taliban were not taken because of existing sanctions. As winter sets in, theyve been eating two daily meals of carrots or potatoes and bread. These sanctions are not automatically applicable to the Central Bank of Afghanistan. Over the past six months, the Taliban has targeted and terrorized the women and girls of Afghanistan, swiftly reimposing draconian measures that limit their freedom and undermine their safety. KABUL: A woman receives oxygen outside of a hospital in December. Sabine Baumgartner, Photo Editor. Join our movement today. by Claire Klobucista Do they send their children to work or let them starve? At the same time, the countrys overall economy and banking system has been almost completely incapacitated by decisions by the US and other governments to cut off Afghanistans Central Bank, officially the Da Afghanistan Bank, from the international banking system. This and escalating poverty that has made it very hard for girls to attend the girls schools that remain open have heightened the risk of child marriage. Actions underlying the crisis include: These massive funding streams provided purchasing power to millions of Afghan families, including many very poor households who benefited from cash-for-work, cash distribution, and livelihood support programs. Taliban policies that have barred women from most paid jobs have had a swift and devastating impact on households in which women were the sole or main earners. Chinas global image has deteriorated significantly in the past four years, alienating leading democracies and developing countries alike with aggressive foreign policy, economic coercion, and faltering soft power policies. Even in areas in which women are still allowed to work in some jobs primarily education and health care they are often unable to comply with oppressive Taliban requirements, such as having a male family member escort them to work and even throughout the workday. Without it, hospitals have suffered a shortage of medicine and supplies, primary-care facilities have been forced to close, and medical staff have not received regular wages, raising concerns that they could soon stop showing up to work. These are excruciating choices that no parent should have to make. According to a World Food Program survey released in February 2022, nearly 100 percent of female-headed households are facing insufficient food consumption and 85 percent are taking drastic measures to obtain food. Afghan children are starving to death nearly every day. Afghanistans healthcare system has largely collapsed, which has had a devastating impact on maternal and infant health, and women and girls access to sexual and reproductive health care services that were already in short supply. Additional budgetary assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), USAID, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was also cut. However, existing UN and state sanctions on the Taliban and many of its senior leaders led many banks and other financial institutions outside of Afghanistan after August 2021 to restrict or block the processing of most transactions involving Afghan bank accounts, out of concern, appropriate or not, that they could face fines or prosecution from US authorities. Nearly every Afghan citizen could be living in poverty by mid-2022, according to the UN Development Program. But it is not too late to prevent further tragedy if we act now.. Humanitarian assistance programs can help mitigate the severe impacts of Afghanistans humanitarian crisis and bring genuine relief to many people, but they are far from sufficient to overcome its scale and breadth. The UK and several EU governments have issued similar licenses or guidance documents. Banks are also facing difficulties settling incoming dollar transactions via correspondent accounts at private banks outside the country, most likely due to foreign banks fears that they may be violating UN and US sanctions on the Taliban. The UN Security Council recently agreed that for one year, providing humanitarian assistance will not violate sanctions. This Backgrounder unpacks the Talibans return to power. UN, US, and other government sanctions currently applicable to the situation in Afghanistan were initially imposed on the Taliban and its senior leadership in 1998 after Al Qaeda carried out attacks on two US embassies in Africa the sanctions aimed to punish the Taliban for hosting al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The world cannot forget about the women and girls who will inevitably stay behind in Afghanistan. If conditions dont improve, the Food and Agriculture Organization has cautioned that Afghanistan could slip into a famine this year. Did the Biden administration seize Afghan foreign currency reserves in the US? On CNNs The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, WRCs Gayatri Patel discussed what is happening to women and girls in Afghanistan after the Talibans takeover. There is little legal basis to challenge presidential executive orders. There are no sanctions on the Afghan Central Bank. State and Local Webinars, Confronting Reality in Cyberspace: Foreign Policy for a Fragmented Internet, Virtual Event In 2021, some seven hundred thousand people were forced to leave their homes and move to other parts of Afghanistan. They have imposed policies and practices that violate the rights of women and girls to education, employment, health, and freedom of movement, among other basic rights. However, some of the Taliban leaders listed for sanctions by the UN, US, and others are now ministers in the new Taliban administration, such as the finance minister, Gul Agha Ishakzai. The Women's Refugee Commission is a 501(c)(3) organization. Taliban Says It Will Be More Tolerant Toward Women. If agreement involving the Central Bank is not possible, governments, the UN, and the World Bank should negotiate a short-term agreement with the Taliban to designate a private bank or other entity, independent of the Central Bank, to process large-scale humanitarian transactions (e.g., a. All Contributions Humanitarian Fund information. Violent conflict, a devastating drought, and food insecurity affecting over half the population in Afghanistan are driving one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Even before the Talibans takeover, millions of people were displaced by conflict within Afghanistan. As noted above, this immediately increased liquidity problems for all banks and the shortages of currency in US dollars and Afghan afghanis. In The Washington Post, WRCs Gayatri Patel discusses how thousands of women in Afghanistan who worked to advance womens rights are at risk. Humanitarian actors, legitimate businesses, and ordinary Afghan citizens need access to banks to function. Under these circumstances, donor governments are understandably reluctant to adopt actions and measures that would bolster the Talibans rule or facilitate further rights violations. Share this via LinkedIn This could, and should, have been prevented. Over three million children are suffering from malnutrition. Millions of Afghans are struggling to survive after crucial foreign aid was halted due to the Talibans takeover. The huge spike in prices caused by the economic crisis has left many families unable to afford food.. Images from Afghanistan show a catastrophe in a country already traumatized by decades of war. adjustments, gain/losses on exchange rate etc. Sardar Shafaq/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images, most at risk of humanitarian deterioration in 2022, the legacy of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The lives of human rights activists, particularly womens rights defenders, are at risk. As a direct result, an enormous number of Afghan households immediately lost their primary sources of income. Since the US withdrawal and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the country has endured a deepening and increasingly deadly humanitarian crisis. ** May include unearmarked and earmarked funding with implementation dates beyond the calendar year, *** Excludes miscellaneous income (e.g. Share this via Reddit And the UN organization has warned that acute hunger could become widespread this winter. WRC urged President Biden to reconsider his decision to not extend the August 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, highlighting the numbers of at-risk Afghansincluding women activists and other human rights defenders who may need to be evacuated. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Afghanistan: Snapshot of Population Movements, January to July 2022 (As of 26 July 2022), Afghanistan: Snapshot of Population Movements, January to June 2022 (As of 20 June 2022), Afghanistan: Flash Update #2 - Flash Flooding in Central, Eastern, Southern, and South-Eastern Regions (13 July 2022), Afghanistan: Flash Update #1 - Flash Flooding in Eastern and Central Regions (7 July 2022), Afghanistan Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 87 | March June 2022, Afghanistan: Earthquake Response Situation Report No. Months after the Talibans takeover, Afghanistan is in crisis. (Major US dollar denomination transactions involving Afghan banks ultimately require the cooperation of a US-based banks correspondent account to settle transactions.). Afghanistan: Hunger Crisis Has Economic Roots, Morocco: Playbook to Mask Worsening Repression, Ukraine: Torture, Disappearances in Occupied South. Moreover, many foreign banks remain unwilling to process foreign currency transactions involving Afghan banks in general. Now, experts say it has been devastated by the international response to the hard-line Islamist groups seizure of power: halting billions of dollars in assistance and enforcing sanctions that have impeded relief work. KABUL: The crisis worsens as winter weather makes it harder for relief agencies to distribute aid throughout the country. by Lindsay Maizland Share this via Email How has the humanitarian crisis affected women and girls? An error occurred while subscribing your email address. by Joshua Kurlantzick Share this via Twitter Almost all Afghans are facing these dangerous hardships, but women and girls, who face greater obstacles to obtaining food, health care, and financial resources, are disproportionately affected. Now, All That is in Doubt, Theyre Really Sitting Ducks: Refugee Advocates Inundated with Pleas for Help from Vulnerable Afghans, Lifesaving Humanitarian Response for Women and Girls in Afghanistan: An Urgent Call for U.S. Action, Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally Co-Chair Letter on Womens Rights in Afghanistan, Menendez, Shaheen Lead Senate Colleagues in Bipartisan Letter Urging Biden Admin to Protect Afghan Women Leaders in Wake of Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan, My Taliban Nightmare Came True. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) were joined by 44 of their Senate colleagues in urging the Biden administration to take swift, robust action to protect and support Afghan women leaders facing unparalleled danger following the Talibans violent sweep across Afghanistan and seizure of Kabul. This article visualizes the legacy of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. In December, it fell to a record low against the U.S. dollar. In the absence of any agreements, the UN should continue to use whatever means are at its disposal to continue shipments of currency to Afghanistan for humanitarian purposes. contact your Congressional representative and Senators, What Afghanistans Unfolding Humanitarian Crisis Means for Women and Girls. KABUL: The family of eight-year-old Usman* has struggled to find food since fleeing Nangarhar Province three years ago. Since the August 2021 takeover, Taliban authorities have arbitrarily arrested and attacked activists, journalists, and former government officials. These systems, however, impose enormous transactional costs sometimes over 10 percent and in any case cannot be scaled up to handle the scope of humanitarian operations that groups are hoping to undertake, which involve hundreds of millions of dollars in cash assistance. If the Central Bank is given access to assets, cant the Taliban just take the funds? KHOST PROVINCE: A remote hospital struggles to provide services in the absence of heat, food, and medicine in December. A humanitarian and human rights crisis is continuing in Afghanistan as the country continues under Taliban rule. We got two sacks of flour last spring which were still using. Requirements for this year are outlined below. Afghan Womens Rights Remain on the Periphery of Talks with Taliban, Womens Refugee Commission Statement at UN High-Level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan, Womens Refugee Commission Urges U.S. Not to Abandon Afghan Women Human Rights Defenders, Womens Refugee Commission Urges Biden Administration to Immediately Evacuate Afghan Womens Rights Activists, Families Trapped in Afghanistan, NPR: 51% Episode #1703: The Womens Refugee Commission, They Rejected Rescue for a Chance to Get a Fulbright and Change Afghanistan. According to a World Food Program survey released in February, four out of five households reported no income or significantly reduced incomes in January 2022. The International Rescue Committee has concluded that, [u]naddressed, the current humanitarian crisis could lead to more deaths than twenty years of war. A February 2022 survey by Save the Children found that 82 percent of Afghan families had lost wages since August 2021 and almost one in five were sending children to engage in labor (for miniscule wages), while 7.5 percent stated they were resorted to begging or requesting money or food from charity. Remittance banks should be provided with additional licenses to allow arrangements with the Central Bank and private banks to facilitate legitimate US dollar transactions and, if necessary, physical shipments, monitored by an independent auditor. Prices for food staples such as flour and rice have skyrocketed, severe drought in much of the country has destroyed crops, and several challenges have halted cross-border aid. When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Maryam Jamis boss offered to help her flee the country. I Left, But My Sister Couldnt, Humanitarian Accountability Framework Statement, Child and Vulnerable Adult Safeguarding Policy.