The United Nations has distributed approximately 1.53 billion euros in aid for Afghanistan to some 40 humanitarian organizations, both independent and part of the international institution itself from December 2021 to November of this year, in the midst of an alarming situation in the country due to the deterioration of human rights and a humanitarian crisis that will worsen with the low temperatures of winter.
«The majority of Afghans remain impoverished with little prospect of significant improvement, with more than 90 percent of the population estimated to be food insecure,» according to the latest UN quarterly report, released last Friday.
In the same report, Guterres said that the UN mission in the country, UNAMA, has continued to receive «credible allegations of human rights violations» and a campaign of persecution against former government officials despite the general amnesty proclaimed by the Taliban upon taking power in 2021.
«Afghans’ fundamental rights and freedoms remain severely restricted, especially for women and girls, who face persistent restrictions on their right to education, participation in public life and access to services,» the report adds.
Guterres questions the Taliban’s economic initiatives and stresses that the overall economic outlook «remains of great concern,» especially in the run-up to winter, when humanitarian needs will multiply.
Aid funds, the secretary-general recalls, have been transferred directly to 19 UN agencies, funds or programs, the World Bank and 30 international non-governmental organizations through the Afghanistan International Bank, according to the report.
«The delivery of cash has contributed to stabilizing the Afghan currency and served as an economic stimulus» for the country, Guterres explained before stressing that at no time has the UN directly supported the Taliban, whom he merely described as «a ‘de facto’ administration.»
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
