UK inserts humanitarian aid exception into Afghan sanctions
The UK government says it has adopted ‘a humanitarian exception from UN sanctions meaning aid agencies can operate without fear of undue legal repercussions.’
‘Previously’, it said, ‘charities and humanitarian agencies trying to bring aid into Afghanistan faced legal difficulties as a result of UN sanctions against senior Taliban leaders.’
In an explanatory memorandum, it said: ‘The purpose of this instrument is to amend the 2020 Regulations to ensure that the UK implements its obligations under UN Security Council resolution 2615 (2021) (‘UNSCR 2615’). Paragraph 1 of UNSCR 2615 decides that humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan are not a violation of the financial sanctions measures imposed by paragraph 1(a) of UN Security Council resolution 2255 (2015), and that certain financial and other activities necessary to ensure the timely delivery of such assistance or to support such activities are permitted.
‘This instrument implements paragraph 1 of UNSCR 2615 by inserting an exception to regulations 8 to 12 (asset-freeze etc.) of the 2020 Regulations. This exception provides that the prohibitions in regulations 8 to 12 are not contravened by a person carrying out an activity which is necessary (a) to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, or (b) to carry out other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan, provided that the person believes that such activity is so necessary and there is no reasonable cause for the person to suspect otherwise.’
A recent report of the United Nations Transitional Engagement Framework (‘TEF’) for Afghanistan commented, ‘The international sanctions regimes established by the Security Council and other UN Member States limit the scope of activity within which the UN and its partners can operate, requiring a fundamental change in its operations.’
The United Nations describes TEF as, ‘the overarching strategic planning document for the UN system’s assistance in 2022.’ Its executive summary warned, ‘The August 2021 power shift in Afghanistan has created the need for a transitional strategy for the United Nations (UN) to address the deepening political and social-economic instability.
‘Afghanistan is confronting an unprecedented humanitarian crisis with a very real risk of systemic collapse and human catastrophe that threatens to cancel many of the development gains of the last twenty years. In 2022, 24.4 million people in Afghanistan are projected to be in humanitarian need. Almost 23 million people are projected to face acute food insecurity, and over one million children risk dying from severe acute malnutrition. Poverty may become nearly universal affecting 95-97 percent of the population.’
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/65/regulation/2/made
