This was not accurate. Share this via Telegram An error occurred while subscribing your email address. This article visualizes the legacy of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. This has led to a massive liquidity crisis and nationwide shortages of banknotes in both US dollars and the Afghan currency, afghanis. The following donors contributed earmarked funding for this year. In other countries, the US and other governments stopped recognizing the credentials of the Central Bank, effectively blocking the bank from its foreign currency reserves on deposit at their central banks, including the New York Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and other central banks in Europe, which together held approximately $9 billion of Afghanistans foreign currency reserves, the bulk of it $7 billion at the New York Federal Reserve. The huge spike in prices caused by the economic crisis has left many families unable to afford food.. afghanistan region maps map by Lindsay Maizland The International Rescue Committee has concluded that, [u]naddressed, the current humanitarian crisis could lead to more deaths than twenty years of war. A February 2022 survey by Save the Children found that 82 percent of Afghan families had lost wages since August 2021 and almost one in five were sending children to engage in labor (for miniscule wages), while 7.5 percent stated they were resorted to begging or requesting money or food from charity. 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. She said no. The International Monetary Fund has estimated that the Afghan economy could contract by up to 30 percent. Even the small batches of paper currency currently sent into the country on UN flights are losing as much as 10 percent in transactional costs, insurance, and fees, and perhaps more. This could, and should, have been prevented. The world cannot forget about the women and girls who will inevitably stay behind in Afghanistan. Afghanistans economic collapse was caused by a combination of factors and decisions taken by governments and international institutions, outlined below, and on a larger level, by the US and the Talibans failure to reach an agreement to avert the humanitarian impacts of the change in governance in August 2021. At least 55 percent of the population is expected to be in crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity through March 2022, according to the United Nations. However, existing UN and state sanctions on the Taliban and many of its senior leaders led many banks and other financial institutions outside of Afghanistan after August 2021 to restrict or block the processing of most transactions involving Afghan bank accounts, out of concern, appropriate or not, that they could face fines or prosecution from US authorities. The Taliban have closed the vast majority of girls secondary schools depriving girls of the right to education. KABUL: A man distributes food to women in January. 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. This and escalating poverty that has made it very hard for girls to attend the girls schools that remain open have heightened the risk of child marriage. Governments, the UN, the World Bank, and the Taliban should work to reach an agreement to allow the Afghanistan Central Bank access to the international banking system and provide it with its requisite credentials. BAMIYAN PROVINCE: Fifty-seven-year-old Kubra worries about her grandchildrens futures. 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. Were these economic actions taken because of international sanctions? The lives of human rights activists, particularly womens rights defenders, are at risk. 1 - As of 17 July 2022, Afghanistan: Quarter One Response and Humanitarian Access Severity (1 Jan - 31 Mar 2022), Afghanistan: Overview of Assessments (as of 29 May 2022). ), Funding information from the OCHA Contributions Tracking System, Governments, corporations and foundations: [emailprotected]. 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. As an initial step, the US Treasury Department and other financial authorities should issue licenses and guidance to allow the Central Bank to engage in limited settlement transactions with outside private banks so that the bank can pay its World Bank dues and process or settle incoming dollar deposits from legitimate private depositors such as UNICEF, the UN Development Program, remittance banks, and other legitimate actors and purchase banknotes to hold commercial auctions for private banks in Afghanistan. Donations are deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations. We treat frighteningly ill children every day who havent eaten anything except bread for months. Op-ed in the Washington Post by Nasrin Nawa, a multimedia journalist formerly residing and working in Kabul. KABUL: The crisis worsens as winter weather makes it harder for relief agencies to distribute aid throughout the country. The US Treasury has reaffirmed that existing US sanctions on the Taliban and certain Taliban leaders still apply. UN Security Council members should take immediate steps to ensure that legitimate financial transactions related to humanitarian activities and the provision of other essential goods and services are excluded from the scope of UN sanctions. Some Fear Otherwise. Yet children are starving to death because their parents cant afford to pay for food. Ambassador to Afghanistan P. Michael McKinley writes for Foreign Affairs. 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. When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Maryam Jamis boss offered to help her flee the country. 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. Please give now to support our work, Questions and Answers on Human Costs of Sanctions, Banking Restrictions, Share this via Facebook Humanitarian assistance programs can help mitigate the severe impacts of Afghanistans humanitarian crisis and bring genuine relief to many people, but they are far from sufficient to overcome its scale and breadth. 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. 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. These sanctions were updated in 2008 and have been adjusted by the US, UK, and other governments at various times since. In 2021, some seven hundred thousand people were forced to leave their homes and move to other parts of Afghanistan. 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. Read our one-page fact sheet on immediate actions for the Biden administration and world leaders. It then authorized transfers of that money to any account or entity or body using it for the benefit of the Afghan people and for Afghanistans future, including World Bank trust funds; other trust accounts; a United Nations fund, programme, specialized agency; or any other entity or body. The administration later acknowledged that other entities or bodies includes the Central Bank itself in other words, its own ledger in Afghanistan or at its own bank accounts in other countries. 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. According to the US Federal Reserve Act, cited by the February 11 license, this representative must be someone certified by a person who the US State Department has recognized as an accredited representative to the Government of the United States of the foreign state. The US has not recognized any such representative or a bank official credentialed by such a person, so essentially the bank remains cut off from its access to the reserves. 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. Half of that would be spent on food. There are no sanctions against Afghanistan itself, its government, or any governmental entities. Private Afghan banks cannot cover withdrawals by depositors, including humanitarian aid organizations. Even before the Talibans takeover, millions of people were displaced by conflict within Afghanistan. This letter to the Biden administration from the co-chairs of the Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally details the the deep concern from the co-chairs about the growing threat to the rights and safety of women and girls in Afghanistan. The plaintiffs previous judgments are also against the Taliban, not the state of Afghanistan; under US law, funds in an account in the name of a foreign central bank are presumed to belong to that bank and its country, not private parties. Humanitarian actors, legitimate businesses, and ordinary Afghan citizens need access to banks to function. kunar 1000s taliban displaces Can President Bidens February 11 order be changed or overturned? 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. 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. A humanitarian and human rights crisis is continuing in Afghanistan as the country continues under Taliban rule. The impact of rights violations on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls, cannot be disregarded because of the Talibans past and present abuses. In September and December 2021 and February 2022, the US Treasury issued multiple licenses and guidance documents authorizing banks and other entities subject to US law to engage in a range of humanitarian activities and transactions with Afghan government entities necessary or incidental to humanitarian operations or legitimate commercial activities, such as remittances. KHOST PROVINCE: A remote hospital struggles to provide services in the absence of heat, food, and medicine in December. That is partly due to the halt in foreign aid: Before the Taliban took over, an estimated three-fourths of the Afghan governments expenditures were covered by grants from international partners. But it is not too late to prevent further tragedy if we act now.. The UN Security Council recently agreed that for one year, providing humanitarian assistance will not violate sanctions. KABUL: People protest near the former U.S. embassy in December, blaming the freezing of Afghanistans assets for widespread hunger. Help us continue to fight human rights abuses. There are no sanctions on the Afghan Central Bank. Images from Afghanistan show a catastrophe in a country already traumatized by decades of war. 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. There is little legal basis to challenge presidential executive orders. 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). In the absence of any agreements, the UN should continue to use whatever means are at its disposal to continue shipments of currency to Afghanistan for humanitarian purposes. Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program. The UK and several EU governments have issued similar licenses or guidance documents. July 20, 2022, Cooling the Planet Through Solar Reflection, Webinar The US Treasurys permissions and comfort letters do not address many other legitimate transactions, or the status of the Central Bank or its credentials, which is needed for Afghanistans economy to stabilize. with Jami Miscik, Adam Segal, Gordon M. Goldstein, Niloofar Razi Howe and Will Hurd UN, US, and other government sanctions currently applicable to the situation in Afghanistan were initially imposed on the Taliban and its senior leadership in 1998 after Al Qaeda carried out attacks on two US embassies in Africa the sanctions aimed to punish the Taliban for hosting al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Absent new actions or guidance from the Security Councils relevant sanctions committees, which would require the agreement of all other council members, it remains unclear if UN sanctions apply to the Central Bank or to transactions involving government offices or ministries controlled by sanctioned people. Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. The decisions outlined above have prevented the Central Bank from accessing foreign currency reserves even as collateral to provide short-term liquidity to settle dollar transactions, make essential payments, purchase banknotes to hold auctions of dollars for private banks, or pay dues to the World Bank. Afghanistan is in need of a recognized central bank or a private bank, given the authorities and access to assets to act like one. The US Treasury Department then immediately issued a license ordering the New York Federal Reserve to transfer $3.5 billion of those assets into a separate account in the name of the Afghan Central Bank. But more than one thousand facilities are not being supported, including a majority of hospitals for COVID-19 patients. Many markets in Afghanistan are open but most households lack cash to purchase food. Notably, however, approximately $1 billion of the assets are on deposit by private actors in Afghanistan, including businesses. Sabine Baumgartner, Photo Editor. 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. By What should be done to address Afghanistans humanitarian crisis? The abrupt cuts of World Bank-programs caused a massive drop in purchasing power across the country and had major impacts on both household and macroeconomic levels. As winter sets in, theyve been eating two daily meals of carrots or potatoes and bread. Afghanistan: Hunger Crisis Has Economic Roots, Morocco: Playbook to Mask Worsening Repression, Ukraine: Torture, Disappearances in Occupied South. 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. Some families of September 11 victims have opposed the funds being used for this purpose. with Robert J. Lempert and Stewart M. Patrick What makes the humanitarian crisis the result of an economic crisis? Share this via Printer. Share this via Email KABUL: A child stands in a neighborhood where internally displaced people have been living for years. Please try again. Millions of people are facing starvation, the health-care system is collapsing, and wages are plummeting. July 12, 2022 Nearly every Afghan citizen could be living in poverty by mid-2022, according to the UN Development Program. In December, it fell to a record low against the U.S. dollar. Even in areas in which women are still allowed to work in some jobs primarily education and health care they are often unable to comply with oppressive Taliban requirements, such as having a male family member escort them to work and even throughout the workday. 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. ** May include unearmarked and earmarked funding with implementation dates beyond the calendar year, *** Excludes miscellaneous income (e.g. Human rights abuses have only grown since the Taliban took over. Since the US withdrawal and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the country has endured a deepening and increasingly deadly humanitarian crisis. This explainer by the National Immigration Forum compares the various pathways currently available for Afghan evacuees to stay in the U.S. and discusses why adjustment legislation remains necessary and urgent. Taliban policies that have barred women from most paid jobs have had a swift and devastating impact on households in which women were the sole or main earners. Do they send their children to work or let them starve? KANDAHAR PROVINCE: The value of the countrys currency, the afghani, has steadily deteriorated.