UN humanitarian agencies warned that a harsh win-ter in Afghanistan is aggravating already severe conditions that are challenging millions of Afghans across the country.
The spokesperson of the General Secretary of the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, announced that based on the estimates of the UN Office of the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), they have so far collected $1.5 billion to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
“Provision of winterization support, including cash and non-food items, is also under way in various parts of the country” Dujarric said.
Dujarric at the daily briefing in New York said that in the past 24 hours, heavy snowfall and rain have impacted a number of areas, disrupting flights to and from Kabul Airport. He said that winter is mak-ing the lives of Afghan people more dire.
“Further snow and low temperatures are forecast in the coming days,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Du-jarric said.
Meanwhile, OCHA said that in 2021, donors pro-vided $1.5 billion for two humanitarian appeals, including $776 million of the $606 million required for the Flash Appeal launched in September by the Secretary-General, and $730 million of the $869 million sought in the Humanitarian Response Plan.
The international community at the UN meeting in Geneva on Monday, which was attended by more than 90 states, pledged over $1 billion in humanitar-ian aid for Afghanistan, said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
“This conference has fully met my expectations. There are 156 participants, including 90+ States. This shows how crucial Afghanistan is for the inter-national community. More than 1 billion USD has been pledged,” he said.
The meeting was held at the request of Guterres to provide humanitarian aid for the people of Afghani-stan.
The meeting was joined by representatives of many countries and international non-governmental or-ganizations, both physically and virtually.
Guterres at the meeting urged the participants to pledge support for the people of Afghanistan. “The people of Afghanistan need a lifeline. After decades of war, suffering and insecurity, they face perhaps their most perilous hour. Now is the time for the international community to stand with them.” He spoke.
Guterres said the Under-Secretary-General for Hu-manitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordina-tor, Martin Griffiths, traveled to Kabul last week and met with the Taliban leadership and the Taliban have said they will cooperate in delivering assis-tance to the people of Afghanistan.
“The de facto authorities pledged — in person and in a follow-up letter to Under-Secretary General Griffiths — that they will cooperate to ensure assis-tance is delivered to the people of Afghanistan,” Guterres said.
Guterres entreated the participants to provide $606 million to provide urgent assistance to 11 million people in need in Afghanistan, saying that the UN is providing $20 million. “Today we are announcing a $20 million allocation from the UN’s Central Emer-gency Response Fund to support the humanitarian operation in Afghanistan,” he added.
He also said the United Nations Humanitarian Air Services (UNHAS) has established an airbridge from Pakistan to Afghanistan and is transporting assistance to Afghanistan.
He also called on the international community to protect the progress made in the last two decades in Afghanistan.
The meeting participants also called for the preser-vation of the achievements made in the past two decades, especially for the rights of women, girls and minorities, and for women and girls’ access to education and work. They also called on the Taliban to respect humanitarian laws.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said “the Taliban has to respect basic human rights,” and that his country pledges five million euros to provide humanitarian support to Afghanistan.
Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, meanwhile raised the UK’s con-cern over regional instability and said his country will provide aid to Afghanistan via aid organiza-tions. “We will not give aid directly to the Taliban,” he said.
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thompson-Greenfield, speaking virtually at the meeting, called on the Taliban to uphold the commitments they have made to the United States and the international community. She said the United States continues to provide aid to the people of Afghanistan. She pledged $64 million in new humanitarian assistance, and will assess the on-the-ground situation and con-sider future assistance, she said.
Sofía Sprechmann Sineiro, secretary-general of CARE International, meanwhile said NGOs can handle delivering aid in complex situations and called for resources and diversity in aid delivery and the participation of Afghan women in the process.
Speakers from Qatar, Turkey, France, India and several other countries and humanitarian organiza-tions also spoke at the meeting and called for inter-national engagement with Afghanistan.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi called for a “pragmatic” approach to Afghanistan and for sustained engagement by the international community and warned against repeating mistakes of the past. Turkey Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said his coun-try’s embassy is operating in Kabul and said the humanitarian agencies should be able to operate securely.
