UN staff bring cash to Afghanistan as sanctions cause banking problems, says Russian diplomat
Dec 27, 2021
Kabul [Afghanistan], December 27 : Amid the growing humanitarian needs in Afghanistan, a senior Russian diplomat has said that UN personnel are forced to bring in cash to the country because the banking system is not working due to US sanctions.
"By the end of the year, donors have pledged to transfer USD 1.2 billion to humanitarian organizations, nearly double the USD 606 million originally requested by the UN. At the same time, the banking system in Afghanistan is not functioning, so it is impossible to transfer the promised money to the country's population," Petr Ilichev, Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Sputnik.
"UN personnel have to bring cash with them," he added.
Earlier this month, the US had said that it was allowing certain transactions involving the Taliban or Haqqani Network for governmental and non-governmental organizations doing humanitarian work in Afghanistan.
The UN Security Council last week unanimously adopted a resolution clearing the way for aid to reach Afghans in desperate need of basic support while preventing funds from falling into the hands of the Taliban.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, described the Council's passage of resolution 2615 as "evidence of how seriously Member States take the shocking levels of need and suffering in the country."
Key provisions of the resolution allow for the processing and payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources, and the provision of goods and services necessary to ensure the timely delivery of assistance.
According to Griffiths, humanitarian operations in Afghanistan are set to be the largest anywhere in the world in 2022, reaching some 22 million people.
Some 160 national and international organizations are providing critical food and health assistance, as well as education, water and sanitation, and support to agriculture. "We urgently need to ramp up this work," he stressed.
