As Afghanistan collapses into a powerful earthquake and begins burying more than 1,000 people, Taliban leaders in Kabul have called on the international community to remove any sanctions created by sanctions and to step in. your help.
“The government is working within its capabilities,” tweeted Anas Haqqani, a senior Taliban official. “We hope that the international community and aid agencies will also help our people in this dire situation.”
Given that most urgent relief work can be classified as humanitarian rather than development aid, countries should be able to argue that assistance is permitted under U.S. Treasury sanctions exemptions. Although there are gray lines between the two forms of aid, the money to respond to an earthquake clearly falls on humanitarian work, and the UN relief agency OCHA immediately coordinated a response in liaison with the agencies. of help.
But calls for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan have had poor responses this year despite the drought and collapse of the economy, and without the recovery, the crisis will put more strain on the funds. The number of aid agencies operating in the country has decreased, as has access to the international airport.
The International Rescue Committee, probably the largest agency left, with as many staff as the UN or even more, said it was deploying mobile health equipment and working with authorities to provide cash support and assistance. The Italian medical assistance group Emergency said it had sent seven ambulances and personnel to the areas closest to the quake zone.
The Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross said its disaster relief teams were on their way to Afghanistan and that money would be released from their disaster relief aid funds. In addition to the cash aid, the Afghan Red Cross said it was sending 4,000 blankets, 800 tents and tarpaulins, 1,500 washing containers and hundreds of mattresses, pillows, blankets and kitchen utensils.
Ambulances were heading to Logar, Khost, Paktika and Paktia provinces, but in the short term the problem is access to the earthquake-ravaged areas, which are in one of the most inaccessible regions in the country. The rudimentary Kabul International Airport will be put to the test. Flights operate regularly in and out of the airport, but security has proven to be an issue.
Iran, Germany and the EU were some of the countries and institutions that offered aid. But this does not mean that there will be no complications under the sanctions law, as aid agencies have been overly reluctant to take the risk of sending cash to Afghanistan if possible. consider likely to touch Taliban-linked accounts.
The episode could serve as a reminder to the international community how underfunded the overall relief effort in Afghanistan is. In general, the diplomatic trajectory remains unrecognized by the Taliban, in large part because of their discrimination against women.
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This week, the UN banned two Afghan education ministers from traveling abroad for any peace and stability negotiations, after their security council removed them from a list of sanctions exemptions. The UN agreed that 13 officials could remain on the list of exemptions for another three months, unless after two months a UN member opposes the extension.
The Taliban backtracked in March on its promise to lift the ban on girls from attending high school, saying they would remain closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law to reopen. the. The decision has left the Taliban deprived of access to their assets abroad and many World Bank funds. The previous scheme depended on aid abroad.