A group of 32 Afghan and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) are pleading with the international community not to abandon the people of Afghanistan one year after the Taliban took control of the country. Instead, they want the international community to address the causes of the country’s economic crisis, defend human rights, and increase humanitarian aid.
They demand a clear roadmap that will result in the restoration of the fundamental functions of the Afghan central bank and the release of Afghanistan’s assets that have been frozen abroad, primarily in the US, out of concern that the deep ideological stalemate between the Taliban and the international community is consigning millions of Afghans to squalor. The NGOs demand the release of printed Afghan banknotes that are now being held in Poland but are urgently needed.
As a result of the west’s reluctance to lift sanctions until the Taliban established a more representative government, allowed girls to return to secondary school, and permitted independent control of the Afghan central bank, discussions on the release of the central bank’s assets have been ongoing for months. In a statement released on Sunday, the European Union restated these general requests.
Also read | Afghanistan under Taliban: Narrated by an Afghan woman
Most of the major organisations present in the nation are represented by the 32 NGOs, which state: “In the last 12 months, millions of Afghans have experienced a fresh wave of adversity, including widespread hunger, unemployment, and almost universal poverty. Ninety-five percent of people lack access to sufficient food. Girls and women suffer more than males do.
Families are reportedly being pushed to make unthinkable decisions in order to survive, according to NGOs working on the ground.
As reported by the Guardian, One of the NGOs that has signed the declaration, the International Rescue Committee, has an advocacy coordinator in Afghanistan named Samira Sayed Rahman. She said: “On a recent journey to the south and south-east, I saw a healthcare system in collapse. In recent months, hospitals have not had enough cash to pay their employees. They lack the funds to purchase drugs and medical supplies. They lack the resources to purchase equipment. Afghan doctors and nurses are operating a large portion of the healthcare system out of goodwill. That model cannot be maintained. Many are attempting to flee.
Asuntha Charles, the national director of World Vision Afghanistan, said: “The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is cataclysmic, and children – as ever in crises like this – are on the frontlines. Over 4 million children are out of school, the majority of them girls, and more than 1.1 million are engaged in child labour. I have met families forced to sell their children, as young as three years old, simply to survive. As the world’s attention drifts, Afghans are falling deeper into catastrophe. We cannot turn our backs on them now.”
The International Rescue Committee’s director for Afghanistan, Vicki Aken, stated: “The country’s economic collapse is what has caused this crisis. The decisions made last year to isolate the Taliban, such as the freezing of foreign funds, the grounding of the banking system, and the suspension of development assistance that funded the majority of government services, have had a disastrous effect. Extreme poverty is worsening food insecurity, decreasing demand for goods, driving Afghan businesses out of business, and leading to increased unemployment.
At the end of July in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Thomas West, the US special representative for Afghanistan, and Brian Nelson, the under-secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, met with Taliban representatives to discuss the conditions for the release of $3.5 billion (£2.9 billion) in Afghan central bank assets that are currently held in the US. The Biden administration has controversially set aside an additional $3.5 billion to aid 9/11 terror attack victims.
Noor Ahmad Agha, a US-designated global terrorist, was appointed by the Taliban as the central bank’s deputy governor, which has angered the west. The US has pushed for the establishment of a body that is separate from the central bank to supervise the management of any repatriated assets.
The NGOs stress in their statement that “appropriate protections should be in place” if the bank’s reserves are returned, without going into further detail.
The Afghan currency has suffered a severe depreciation as a result of the bank’s inability to access the cash, driving up import prices and threatening to bring the banking system to its knees, making it difficult for people to access their savings and receive their paychecks.
The NGOs also urge donors and international financial organisations to distribute the remaining cash in the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund, which is overseen by the World Bank, as well as to increase the role of NGOs in the fund.
The disbursement of $793 million in two instalments to other long-term projects outside of the Taliban’s authority was authorised by the management committee of the fund in June. The NGOs assert that Afghan civil society organisations, particularly those run by women both inside and outside the nation, must also have access to money and support.
“Hard-won advances over the past 20 years are swiftly being undone, as women and girls are systematically eliminated from public life,” Human Rights Watch researcher Fereshta Abbasi said. They are no longer able to exercise their rights to freedom of movement, work, or education. The tremendous sense of abandonment and helplessness that permeates the women I meet with makes them feel resentful. Their cries must be heard by us.
(With inputs from agencies)
WATCH | One year of Taliban regime: A year of grave human rights violation?
