Need to allow money to flow into Afghanistan: UN envoy

The top UN envoy for Afghanistan has called for a modus vivendi for money to flow into the country and for efforts to address the dire humanitarian situationAssets and donor funds worth billions of dollars have been frozen by members of the international community The understandable purpose is to deny these funds to the de facto Taliban administration Xinhua news agency reportedThe inevitable effect however will be a severe economic downturn that could throw many more millions into poverty and hunger may generate a massive wave of refugees from Afghanistan and indeed set Afghanistan back for generations said Deborah Lyons the UN secretarygenerals special representative for AfghanistanAs the Afghan currency plummeted prices of fuel and food have skyrocketed Private banks no longer have the cash to distribute meaning even Afghans with assets cannot access them Salaries cannot be paid she told the Security Council in a briefing on ThursdayAfghanistan heavily importdependent will be unable to finance its imports of food and medicine as well as fuel electricity and other essential items Lyons asserted A modus vivendi must be found and quickly that allows money to flow to Afghanistan to prevent a total breakdown of the economy and social order she saidSafeguards must be created to ensure that this money is spent where it needs to be spent and not misused by the de facto authorities The economy must be allowed to breathe for a few more months giving the Taliban a chance to demonstrate flexibility and a genuine will to do things differently this time notably from human rights gender and counterterrorism perspective she saidAlso Read Afghan soil should not be used to nurture terrorism India at UNSC meetingLyons said the international community must focus on the preexisting humanitarian crisis Addressing this crisis cannot wait for political decisions regarding the removal of sanctions against Taliban leaders as millions of ordinary Afghans are in desperate need of help she addedThis means that needed humanitarian aid must be provided through the United Nations or nongovernmental organisations NGOs There are in addition countries that have their own sanctions that apply to certain members or groups that are now part of the de facto authority Relevant mechanisms must be found quickly to allow for UN agencies and NGOs to provide the necessary humanitarian relief she notedIn the current environment the UN role must be clear and build on our humanitarian imperative There is an immediate and pressing need to deliver on a huge scale essential humanitarian aid in areas such as health food security nonfood items and sanitation said LyonsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever