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TS Tirumurti, India’s UN Ambassador, stated India has expressed its support for a UNSC resolution exempting humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan, where half of the population faces acute food crisis.
On Wednesday, Tirumurti, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said: “In Afghanistan, the humanitarian situation is critical. According to reports, over half of the population is experiencing crisis or emergency levels of acute food insecurity, immediate humanitarian aid is needed to meet people’s basic food needs, and the majority of the country is approaching the poverty line.”
“India has played a vital role in Afghanistan’s growth during the previous two decades. We’ve just flown in half a million vaccination doses and 1.6 metric tonnes of life-saving drugs. More medications and food grains are also on their way from the United States “At the UN Security Council, India’s ambassador stated.
“As Afghanistan’s largest regional development partner, India is eager to cooperate with other stakeholders to enable the timely supply of much-needed assistance to the Afghan people,” Tirumurti continued.
Winter has already arrived, he stated. Assistance must be scaled up quickly, and the UN and other organisations must have unrestricted access. In this context, India has backed the international community’s demand for direct and unhindered access to humanitarian supplies for Afghanistan.
“Humanitarian help should be based on the values of neutrality, impartiality, and independence, and aid should be disbursed in a non-discriminatory manner to all people, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs. Women, children, and minorities, in particular, should be prioritised for aid “He went on to say
Tirumurti continued, “At the same time, this Council should exercise its control on the delivery of assistance and guard against any potential diversion of funds.” This is necessary since any diversion or misuse might be harmful. In this context, we applaud the provision in the resolution that calls for a one-year assessment of the humanitarian carve out’s implementation.
“We urge the world community and countries in the region to work together and put their differences aside. As Afghanistan’s largest regional development partner, India is eager to collaborate with other stakeholders to expedite the delivery of much-needed aid to the Afghan people “Tirumurti expressed himself.
Afghanistan is discussed by Blinken and a Qatari FM.
The latest events in Afghanistan were discussed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. According to an official statement, he also spoke with Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, congratulating “the Qatari people on their recent observance of Qatar National Day and thanking Qatar for its continued work to assist with the safe transit from Afghanistan of US citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, and Afghans to whom we have a special commitment.”
Blinken and the Foreign Minister also discussed the most recent developments in Afghanistan, according to the statement.
Blinken stated earlier on Wednesday that the US will cooperate with the international community to increase the level of assistance supplied to Afghanistan, adding that COVAX will provide one million additional COVID-19 vaccine doses to the conflict-torn country.
Afghanistan will get an additional 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccination from the US.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US will cooperate with the international community to increase the amount of aid delivered to Afghanistan, adding that COVAX will provide one million additional COVID-19 vaccine doses to the conflict-torn country.
In a statement, he said the US supplied almost USD 474 million in humanitarian help to Afghanistan and Afghan refugees in the region for Fiscal Year 2021, making it the single largest supplier of humanitarian aid in the region.
These licences build on current authorizations for humanitarian assistance and other actions that serve fundamental human needs, allowing for expanded support for the Afghan people, according to Blinken.
This Resolution, written by the US and unanimously supported by the UN Security Council’s 15 members, creates a carveout in the UN’s 1988 sanctions regime to ensure that desperately needed help reaches the Afghan people.
The Resolution further urges that the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator provide frequent reports to ensure that aid reaches the intended recipients and is not diverted to the Taliban.
While US sanctions on the Taliban remain in effect, OFAC has issued extensive authorizations to guarantee that nongovernmental groups, international organisations, and the US government can continue to offer crucial assistance and support to Afghanistan’s most vulnerable citizens.
