UN Special Representative for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons made it explicit in a briefing to the UN Security Council Sept. 9, that if sanctions imposed on Afghanistan are not bypassed, the immediate effect will be a “severe economic breakdown,” an increase in poverty by “many millions more,” and throwing Afghanistan “back by generations.” Lyons is als Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Lyons told the Security Council meeting on Afghanistan: “The answers I have for you are not comfortable. They present real dilemmas and will require leadership from the Security Council, from member states of the Security Council, from neighboring states, [and] from the international community more broadly.” (https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/briefing-united-nations-security-council-secretary-general-s-special-11)
She stated: There “is an additional looming crisis to which I must draw your attention.... Billions of assets and donor funds have been frozen by members of the international community. The understandable purpose is to deny these funds to the de facto Taliban administration. 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. As well, as the Afghan currency plummeted, prices of fuel and food have skyrocketed. Private banks no longer have cash to distribute, meaning even Afghans with assets cannot access them. Salaries cannot be paid. Afghanistan, heavily import dependent, will be unable to finance its imports of food and medicine, as well as fuel, electricity, and other central items.
“A modus vivendi must be found, and quickly that allows money to flow to Afghanistan and avoid a total breakdown of the economy and social order….”
