London, Thursday, 23 December 2021 -
The US Treasury and State Departments issued three general licenses on Wednesday to let the Afghan people continue to receive crucial aid and support.
The State Department said in a statement that the licenses "expand upon existing authorizations for the provision of humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs and enable broader support for the Afghan people in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2615 (2021) adopted earlier today."
According to Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, the United States is Afghanistan's greatest single source of humanitarian aid.
"Unfortunately, the economy is facing serious challenges, which are aggravated by the country's lengthy reliance on foreign aid, donor and private sector flight prompted by the Taliban's takeover, drought, structural macroeconomic issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic," Adeyemo said. "The Treasury Department has issued extensive authorizations to guarantee that non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and the United States government can continue to offer assistance to people in need."
The licenses allow employees, grantees, and contractors of the US government, certain international organizations, and other international entities to engage in transactions and activities involving the Taliban or the Haqqani Network in the course of conducting official business for the US government, certain international organizations, and other international entities.
They also cover humanitarian projects that meet basic human needs, citizen participation, government accountability and transparency, human rights and fundamental freedoms, access to information, and civil society development projects; education; non-commercial development projects that directly benefit Afghans; and environmental and natural resource protection.
The UN resolution, written by the US and unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council's 15 members earlier Wednesday, creates a carveout in the UN's 1988 sanctions regime to allow desperately needed help to reach the Afghan people.
(Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)
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