Many hospitals for COVID-19 patients lost international support after the Taliban took power. According to internal UN surveys of humanitarian actors and Human Rights Watch consultations with aid groups, the vast majority of humanitarian agencies operating in Afghanistan through February have been utilizing informal and largely unregulated hawala money transfer systems or sarrafs, or money exchangers, to move funds into Afghanistan, pay salaries, and obtain cash. 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. 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.
This brief outlines recommendations for urgent US action. We got two sacks of flour last spring which were still using. Over three million children are suffering from malnutrition. With those funds gone, tens of thousands of people who work in public-sector jobs, such as teachers and court employees, havent been paid in months. Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. (Note: this is behind a paywall.). 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. Additional budgetary assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), USAID, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was also cut. July 20, 2022, Cooling the Planet Through Solar Reflection, Webinar Share this via Telegram UN officials have urged the United States and other countries to dramatically increase aid, but these governments face a dilemma now that the Taliban are in control. ** May include unearmarked and earmarked funding with implementation dates beyond the calendar year, *** Excludes miscellaneous income (e.g. Moreover, the United States has not made a decision as to whether to recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, and entities that are not recognized as governments of a country are not entitled under US law to property belonging to that country that is located in the United States. 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). They remain fundamentally focused on the Taliban as an armed group, not as a government, and its leaders as individuals. Share this via WhatsApp By the end of 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) received enough funds [PDF] to sustain over two thousand health-care facilities nationwide through mid-2022. The Taliban should end violations of human rights, including abusive policies targeting women and girls that have deepened the gendered impact of the humanitarian crisis. Given the gravity of the crisis in Afghanistan, the existing availability of funds in World Bank managed trust funds, and the existence of the $3.5 billion that is ostensibly not blocked but remains technically available for withdrawal, restoring the central banks credentials remain the primary issue that, if resolved, could address many of the economic issues facing the country.
As a college-educated woman and human rights advocate, the 23-year-old was. 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. 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. KABUL: The family of eight-year-old Usman* has struggled to find food since fleeing Nangarhar Province three years ago. Under the previous government, Afghanistans health-care system depended on foreign aid. This would ostensibly allow families of September 11 victims who had previously obtained judgments against the Taliban to litigate in federal court to obtain the funds as damages to satisfy the judgment. In The Washington Post, WRCs Gayatri Patel discusses how thousands of women in Afghanistan who worked to advance womens rights are at risk.
Fleeing conflict, poverty, and drought, hundreds of families arrived in the capital city of Kabul, where many are living with relatives or renting cheap rooms. Can President Bidens February 11 order be changed or overturned? They have overseen the public executions of dozens of people, an increase in threats against journalists and activists, a decline in girls attending school, and a tightening of restrictions on women, among other abuses. 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. The short-term priority is to use whatever means possible to evacuate these at-risk women leaders and activists. Afghanistan is in need of a recognized central bank or a private bank, given the authorities and access to assets to act like one. 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. 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. These sanctions were updated in 2008 and have been adjusted by the US, UK, and other governments at various times since. KABUL: The crisis worsens as winter weather makes it harder for relief agencies to distribute aid throughout the country. The Women's Refugee Commission is a 501(c)(3) organization. The lives of human rights activists, particularly womens rights defenders, are at risk. But it is not too late to prevent further tragedy if we act now.. The US Treasury and other authorities should then issue guidance to allow the designated private bank or entity to utilize incoming electronic dollar deposits from humanitarian agencies to purchase US dollar currency outside the country and transport them, under international monitoring, for deposit in private banks in Kabul. Read our one-page fact sheet on immediate actions for the Biden administration and world leaders. OCHA received unearmarked contributions from the following donors: Unearmarked contributions (or commitments) are those for which the donor does not require the funds to be used for a specific project, sector, crisis or country, leaving OCHA to decide how to allocate the funds. 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.
Humanitarian actors, legitimate businesses, and ordinary Afghan citizens need access to banks to function. As noted above, this immediately increased liquidity problems for all banks and the shortages of currency in US dollars and Afghan afghanis. Many markets in Afghanistan are open but most households lack cash to purchase food. 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. As winter sets in, theyve been eating two daily meals of carrots or potatoes and bread. If the Central Bank is given access to assets, cant the Taliban just take the funds? *Editors note: These names have been changed to protect the individuals identities. Afghan children are starving to death nearly every day. afghanistan kabul map military links maps Share this via Reddit Forty years of war, recurrent natural disasters, chronic poverty, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic have left more than 24 million people in Afghanistan in need of humanitarian assistance. kunar 1000s taliban displaces Moreover, many foreign banks remain unwilling to process foreign currency transactions involving Afghan banks in general. We must mobilize now to meet their humanitarian needs. 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. 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.
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. Recent developments and political upheaval have exacerbated needs and further complicated an extremely challenging operational context. We treat frighteningly ill children every day who havent eaten anything except bread for months. 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. 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. 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. UN Security Council members should also reach agreement on issuing new guidance or Implementation Assistance Notices, and take other steps to ensure that UN sanctions do not present obstacles to legitimate financial transactions involving the Central Bank, related to humanitarian and other essential work by international and Afghan actors. Were these economic actions taken because of international sanctions? 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. HRPs are the result of OCHAs work with humanitarian partners around the world to identify the most critical humanitarian needs, plan responses and determine the budgets needed to address them.
As Save the Childrens country director said: There is no shortage of food here the markets are full. Instead, on February 11, President Biden issued an executive order formally seizing, or blocking, all $7 billion of Afghanistans reserves in the US and moving them into one account at the New York Federal Reserve. Share this via LinkedIn Requirements for this year are outlined below. Since August, more than four out of five Afghan households have experienced significant decreases or elimination in income. Under these circumstances, donor governments are understandably reluctant to adopt actions and measures that would bolster the Talibans rule or facilitate further rights violations. As a direct result, an enormous number of Afghan households immediately lost their primary sources of income. by Lindsay Maizland 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. The United States has a moral responsibility to not abandon Afghan womens rights activists, especially now when their safety is so acutely at stake. Sabine Baumgartner, Photo Editor. HERAT PROVINCE: A family that was forced to leave their village because of a drought seeks help and camps outside of a government office in November. May 11, 2022 afghanistan humanitarianresponse situation reports info Easing the countrys economic crisis will ultimately require allowing Afghanistans Central Bank or its equivalent to conduct transactions using the international banking system. This $9 billion is part of the overall sovereign wealth of Afghanistan. These are excruciating choices that no parent should have to make. There are no sanctions against Afghanistan itself, its government, or any governmental entities. The country of thirty-eight million people heavily depended on foreign aid before the Taliban came to power in August. KABUL: A man distributes food to women in January. This has led to a massive liquidity crisis and nationwide shortages of banknotes in both US dollars and the Afghan currency, afghanis. Six months ago, President Joe Biden closed the door on two decades of war in Afghanistan. As the Taliban prepared to take control of Afghanistan, the Womens Refugee Commission called on President Biden to send in any necessary military planes to help evacuate womens rights activists and their families currently attempting to flee the country and Taliban persecution. Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures, Backgrounder The Womens Refugee Commission joins three organization calling on the US government and its international partners to prioritize the lives, safety, and fundamental freedoms of Afghan women and girls. The Taliban have closed the vast majority of girls secondary schools depriving girls of the right to education.
November 17, 2021 Renewing America, Backgrounder This Backgrounder unpacks the Talibans return to power. Please try again. Gayatri Patel, the Womens Refugee Commissions vice president for external relations, is a co-chair of the coalition and one of the co-signers of the letter. 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. WRCs Stephanie Johanssen provided a statement at the United Nations High-Level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan. Some families of September 11 victims have opposed the funds being used for this purpose. 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. 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. Notably, however, approximately $1 billion of the assets are on deposit by private actors in Afghanistan, including businesses. 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. KANDAHAR PROVINCE: The value of the countrys currency, the afghani, has steadily deteriorated. afghanistan map opium unodc growing season stopthedrugwar cultivation 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. 
This brief outlines recommendations for urgent US action. We got two sacks of flour last spring which were still using. Over three million children are suffering from malnutrition. With those funds gone, tens of thousands of people who work in public-sector jobs, such as teachers and court employees, havent been paid in months. Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. (Note: this is behind a paywall.). 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. Additional budgetary assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), USAID, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was also cut. July 20, 2022, Cooling the Planet Through Solar Reflection, Webinar Share this via Telegram UN officials have urged the United States and other countries to dramatically increase aid, but these governments face a dilemma now that the Taliban are in control. ** May include unearmarked and earmarked funding with implementation dates beyond the calendar year, *** Excludes miscellaneous income (e.g. Moreover, the United States has not made a decision as to whether to recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, and entities that are not recognized as governments of a country are not entitled under US law to property belonging to that country that is located in the United States. 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). They remain fundamentally focused on the Taliban as an armed group, not as a government, and its leaders as individuals. Share this via WhatsApp By the end of 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) received enough funds [PDF] to sustain over two thousand health-care facilities nationwide through mid-2022. The Taliban should end violations of human rights, including abusive policies targeting women and girls that have deepened the gendered impact of the humanitarian crisis. Given the gravity of the crisis in Afghanistan, the existing availability of funds in World Bank managed trust funds, and the existence of the $3.5 billion that is ostensibly not blocked but remains technically available for withdrawal, restoring the central banks credentials remain the primary issue that, if resolved, could address many of the economic issues facing the country.
As a college-educated woman and human rights advocate, the 23-year-old was. 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. 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. KABUL: The family of eight-year-old Usman* has struggled to find food since fleeing Nangarhar Province three years ago. Under the previous government, Afghanistans health-care system depended on foreign aid. This would ostensibly allow families of September 11 victims who had previously obtained judgments against the Taliban to litigate in federal court to obtain the funds as damages to satisfy the judgment. In The Washington Post, WRCs Gayatri Patel discusses how thousands of women in Afghanistan who worked to advance womens rights are at risk.
Fleeing conflict, poverty, and drought, hundreds of families arrived in the capital city of Kabul, where many are living with relatives or renting cheap rooms. Can President Bidens February 11 order be changed or overturned? They have overseen the public executions of dozens of people, an increase in threats against journalists and activists, a decline in girls attending school, and a tightening of restrictions on women, among other abuses. 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. The short-term priority is to use whatever means possible to evacuate these at-risk women leaders and activists. Afghanistan is in need of a recognized central bank or a private bank, given the authorities and access to assets to act like one. 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. 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. These sanctions were updated in 2008 and have been adjusted by the US, UK, and other governments at various times since. KABUL: The crisis worsens as winter weather makes it harder for relief agencies to distribute aid throughout the country. The Women's Refugee Commission is a 501(c)(3) organization. The lives of human rights activists, particularly womens rights defenders, are at risk. But it is not too late to prevent further tragedy if we act now.. The US Treasury and other authorities should then issue guidance to allow the designated private bank or entity to utilize incoming electronic dollar deposits from humanitarian agencies to purchase US dollar currency outside the country and transport them, under international monitoring, for deposit in private banks in Kabul. Read our one-page fact sheet on immediate actions for the Biden administration and world leaders. OCHA received unearmarked contributions from the following donors: Unearmarked contributions (or commitments) are those for which the donor does not require the funds to be used for a specific project, sector, crisis or country, leaving OCHA to decide how to allocate the funds. 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.
Humanitarian actors, legitimate businesses, and ordinary Afghan citizens need access to banks to function. As noted above, this immediately increased liquidity problems for all banks and the shortages of currency in US dollars and Afghan afghanis. Many markets in Afghanistan are open but most households lack cash to purchase food. 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. As winter sets in, theyve been eating two daily meals of carrots or potatoes and bread. If the Central Bank is given access to assets, cant the Taliban just take the funds? *Editors note: These names have been changed to protect the individuals identities. Afghan children are starving to death nearly every day. afghanistan kabul map military links maps Share this via Reddit Forty years of war, recurrent natural disasters, chronic poverty, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic have left more than 24 million people in Afghanistan in need of humanitarian assistance. kunar 1000s taliban displaces Moreover, many foreign banks remain unwilling to process foreign currency transactions involving Afghan banks in general. We must mobilize now to meet their humanitarian needs. 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. 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.
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. Recent developments and political upheaval have exacerbated needs and further complicated an extremely challenging operational context. We treat frighteningly ill children every day who havent eaten anything except bread for months. 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. 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. 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. UN Security Council members should also reach agreement on issuing new guidance or Implementation Assistance Notices, and take other steps to ensure that UN sanctions do not present obstacles to legitimate financial transactions involving the Central Bank, related to humanitarian and other essential work by international and Afghan actors. Were these economic actions taken because of international sanctions? 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. HRPs are the result of OCHAs work with humanitarian partners around the world to identify the most critical humanitarian needs, plan responses and determine the budgets needed to address them. As Save the Childrens country director said: There is no shortage of food here the markets are full. Instead, on February 11, President Biden issued an executive order formally seizing, or blocking, all $7 billion of Afghanistans reserves in the US and moving them into one account at the New York Federal Reserve. Share this via LinkedIn Requirements for this year are outlined below. Since August, more than four out of five Afghan households have experienced significant decreases or elimination in income. Under these circumstances, donor governments are understandably reluctant to adopt actions and measures that would bolster the Talibans rule or facilitate further rights violations. As a direct result, an enormous number of Afghan households immediately lost their primary sources of income. by Lindsay Maizland 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. The United States has a moral responsibility to not abandon Afghan womens rights activists, especially now when their safety is so acutely at stake. Sabine Baumgartner, Photo Editor. HERAT PROVINCE: A family that was forced to leave their village because of a drought seeks help and camps outside of a government office in November. May 11, 2022 afghanistan humanitarianresponse situation reports info Easing the countrys economic crisis will ultimately require allowing Afghanistans Central Bank or its equivalent to conduct transactions using the international banking system. This $9 billion is part of the overall sovereign wealth of Afghanistan. These are excruciating choices that no parent should have to make. There are no sanctions against Afghanistan itself, its government, or any governmental entities. The country of thirty-eight million people heavily depended on foreign aid before the Taliban came to power in August. KABUL: A man distributes food to women in January. This has led to a massive liquidity crisis and nationwide shortages of banknotes in both US dollars and the Afghan currency, afghanis. Six months ago, President Joe Biden closed the door on two decades of war in Afghanistan. As the Taliban prepared to take control of Afghanistan, the Womens Refugee Commission called on President Biden to send in any necessary military planes to help evacuate womens rights activists and their families currently attempting to flee the country and Taliban persecution. Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures, Backgrounder The Womens Refugee Commission joins three organization calling on the US government and its international partners to prioritize the lives, safety, and fundamental freedoms of Afghan women and girls. The Taliban have closed the vast majority of girls secondary schools depriving girls of the right to education.
November 17, 2021 Renewing America, Backgrounder This Backgrounder unpacks the Talibans return to power. Please try again. Gayatri Patel, the Womens Refugee Commissions vice president for external relations, is a co-chair of the coalition and one of the co-signers of the letter. 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. WRCs Stephanie Johanssen provided a statement at the United Nations High-Level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan. Some families of September 11 victims have opposed the funds being used for this purpose. 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. 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. Notably, however, approximately $1 billion of the assets are on deposit by private actors in Afghanistan, including businesses. 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. KANDAHAR PROVINCE: The value of the countrys currency, the afghani, has steadily deteriorated. afghanistan map opium unodc growing season stopthedrugwar cultivation 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. 