US issues 3 General Licenses to facilitate humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan
Dec 22, 2021
Washington [US], December 23 : The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday (local time) issued three General Licenses to facilitate the continued flow of humanitarian assistance and other support for the Afghan people, White House said in a statement.
"These actions underscore the United States' commitment to support the people of Afghanistan and continue the US government's longstanding practice of authorizing the provision of humanitarian goods and services to areas affected by US sanctions," read the statement.
The statement also said that Treasury's OFAC also issued a Fact Sheet that highlights and consolidates all the relevant authorizations and guidance facilitating the flow of humanitarian assistance, personal remittances, and other support to the Afghan people.
"The United States is the largest single provider of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. We are committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan, which is why the Treasury is taking these additional steps to facilitate assistance," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo.
Adeyemo added, "Unfortunately, the economy faces grave challenges, exacerbated by the country's long dependence on foreign aid, donor and private sector flight sparked by the Taliban's takeover, drought, structural macroeconomic issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Treasury has provided broad authorizations that ensure NGOs, international organizations, and the US government can continue to provide relief to those in need."
As part of Treasury's commitment to enabling humanitarian assistance and other support to Afghanistan, OFAC issued the following General Licenses that expand upon existing authorizations related to the provision of humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs and enable broader support for the Afghan people.
According to the statement, General License 17 authorizes all transactions and activities involving the Taliban or the Haqqani Network that are for the conduct of the official business of the United States Government by employees, grantees, or contractors thereof, subject to certain conditions.
General License 18 authorizes all transactions and activities involving the Taliban or the Haqqani Network that are for the conduct of the official business of certain international organizations and other international entities by employees, grantees, or contractors thereof, subject to certain conditions, said the statement.
The statement further said General License 19 authorizes all transactions and activities involving the Taliban or the Haqqani Network, that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the following activities by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), subject to certain conditions: humanitarian projects to meet basic human needs; activities to support rule of law, citizen participation, government accountability and transparency, human rights and fundamental freedoms, access to information, and civil society development projects; education; non-commercial development projects directly benefitting the Afghan people; and environmental and natural resource protection.
