United Nations Secretary-General Guterres announced on the 13th that at the donor pledging conference held in Geneva, more than $1 billion in humanitarian aid has been raised for Afghanistan, and emphasized that the Taliban has received information on humanitarian operations and protection of United Nations staff. Guarantee. At the same time, a UN official warned that Afghanistan is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster.
At the press conference, Guterres pointed out that at the end of the ministerial meeting to raise aid for Afghanistan, it is not clear how much the United Nations will ultimately receive from the total amount promised by the meeting, but he talked about the emergence of the international community in assisting Afghanistan. “A qualitative leap.”
He also added that the international community should find ways to inject liquidity into the Afghan economy to avoid its collapse. He also warned that such a collapse would have a serious impact on Afghan society and regional stability.
Guterres added that the United Nations should stay in Afghanistan to overcome all difficulties and provide assistance to it. He also pointed out that the international organization plays a leading role in helping the Afghan people.
The meeting was held at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva for one day to raise 600 million U.S. dollars and provide emergency humanitarian assistance to nearly 11 million Afghans in the next four months.
Taliban’s guarantee
At the end of the donor pledge meeting, Guterres stated that the Taliban movement will ensure that the United Nations can enter the entire territory of Afghanistan and respond to the organization’s concerns about the safety of its staff. He also added, “At this stage, it’s impossible. Provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan without communicating with the Taliban.”
He also emphasized that the United Nations has opened channels with the Taliban and emphasized the need for talks with the Taliban on all aspects including terrorism and human rights.
At the opening ceremony of the Geneva conference, Guterres stated that Afghanistan is experiencing one of the world’s most serious food crises and pointed out the need to strengthen humanitarian assistance and provide an air bridge to reach multiple areas of the country. He also emphasized the need for UN staff to play a role in Afghanistan without fear.
Guterres emphasized that the Taliban movement has pledged to cooperate with the United Nations to provide relief to the Afghan people.
Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, revealed that he has received a letter from the Taliban concerning the movement’s guarantees for human rights and humanitarian assistance to enter Afghanistan freely.
Linda Tom: Half of Afghans need assistance (Al Jazeera)On the brink of disaster
On the humanitarian level, Linda Tom, spokesperson for the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan, pointed out to Al Jazeera reporters that the situation in the country is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster.
She also added that the country urgently needs relief assistance, and half of the Afghans need assistance.
She also pointed out that the food aid delivered to Afghans will be exhausted in October this year, and many rescue activities have been interrupted due to the insecurity in Afghanistan.
In addition, she also said that Afghans will feel the impact of a more severe humanitarian crisis this winter.
U.S. aid
During the Geneva meeting, the United States announced that it would provide nearly $64 million in additional humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.
The US Agency for International Development said in a statement that the funding will be provided through independent organizations such as UN agencies and non-governmental organizations.
US Secretary of State Blincol promised to continue to provide assistance to the Afghan people through non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies.
Statistics provided by the United Nations show that before the Taliban took control of the country, nearly half of Afghanistan’s population relied on aid.
United Nations officials and aid organizations warned that this number could rise further due to drought, lack of food and cash, and the interruption of foreign financial aid after the Taliban came to power.
Afghanistan and international aidPositive trend
At the same time, Kabul Airport also showed positive trends. More Qatar Airways planes arrived at the airport and randomly arrived 21 tons of relief supplies, medical supplies and medicines provided by the World Health Organization.
In addition, four WFP planes arrived at Kabul Airport with the organization’s team on board to return to Afghanistan. Sources from the international organization told Al Jazeera reporters that the organization will resume the distribution of humanitarian aid in various cities in Afghanistan.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Philippe Grandi went to Kabul to learn more about the situation. He also said that his visit to Afghanistan was to assess the urgent humanitarian needs of the country and the actual situation of 3.5 million Afghan displaced persons.
After the Qatar technical team completed the repair work of Kabul International Airport, a Pakistan International Airlines plane also arrived in the morning of the same day, thus starting a series of commercial flights to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan-Turkmenistan talks
The Deputy Prime Minister of the new government of Afghanistan, Mulvi Abdul-Salaam Hanafi, held talks with Turkmenistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Rashid Meledov via video link.
Muhammad Naim, spokesman for the Taliban Political Office, said that the two sides discussed ways to support the new government, aid the Afghan people, and open border crossings between the two countries. They also discussed the implementation of some projects, including railway construction and power sector development.
Naim said that Meledov expressed Turkmenistan’s willingness to cooperate with the new Afghan government and encouraged other neighboring countries to do the same. He also promised to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and the Afghan people in the next few days.
Frozen funds
On the other hand, the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Banks and Exchanges issued a joint statement calling for the release of frozen Afghan funds.
The statement pointed out that it is necessary to provide assistance and strive to restore services in Afghanistan. The statement also called on the United Nations and international organizations to provide support to the Afghan people.
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