UN's Afghan aid will ease suffering, experts say

The United Nations' attention on the suffering of the Afghan people will help ease the humanitarian and economic crisis in a country left in ruins by NATO forces and the United States' irresponsible sanctions, experts say.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, for one year till March 17, 2023. The Taliban government later welcomed the resolution on Saturday.

"We hope that through UN, the international community will strengthen and formalize relations with the Islamic Emirate, as well as support and assist the people of Afghanistan in the humanitarian, medical and construction sectors," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

Resolution 2626 states that the UNAMA and the UN secretary-general's special representative will continue to carry out their mandate in support of the people of Afghanistan, in close consultations with all Afghan political actors and stakeholders. It also stresses the critical importance of a continued presence of the mission and other UN agencies, funds and programs across Afghanistan.

"This new mandate for UNAMA is crucial not only to respond to the immediate humanitarian and economic crisis but also to reach our overarching goal of peace and stability in Afghanistan," Norway's UN Ambassador Mona Juul was quoted as saying by AFP. But Juul, whose country drafted the resolution, added that the resolution "in no way" implies UN recognition of the Taliban.

Salman Bashir, a former Pakistani ambassador to China, said: "As far as humanitarian assistance is concerned the formal UN presence is definitely a good step."

Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies in Pakistan, said: "The UN voting on its formal presence in Afghanistan is a big, pragmatic step to enable other countries to step in, in support of Afghanistan, which badly needs external support to sustain its economy and to help people who are in dire need."

He pointed out the Taliban government is short on financial resources due to continued sanctions by the US on Afghan assets as well as on the country's international banking services.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, said helping Afghanistan ease the humanitarian and economic crises is the most urgent task and the top priority for the international community, and it should be the most important work of UNAMA in the coming period.

Hunger haunts Afghanistan, with the number of people suffering acute hunger increasing from 14 million in July 2021 to 23 million this month, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The 2022 humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan requests $4.4 billion to reach 21 million people. But funding stands at only 13 percent, Haq said.

The Afghan Red Crescent Society has received a new batch of assistance donated by the Red Cross Society of China. The latest deliveries include 131 metric tons of flour, packed in 5,250 sacks each weighing 25 kilograms, according to ARCS Secretary-General Mawlawi Matiul Haq Khalis. "The donated flour will be distributed to needy families in Kabul and eastern Paktika Province," he said at a handover ceremony on March 16.

"At present, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, international food prices have risen sharply, but China extended a helping hand to Afghanistan without hesitation," said Wang Yu, the Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan.

Xinhua contributed to the story.