Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis
Senior Advisor for Special Political Affairs
New York, New York
December 22, 2021
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Mr. President.
The United States warmly welcomes the adoption of today’s resolution, which will enable the international community to move forward with a broad range of critical humanitarian assistance and other activities to meet basic human needs of the Afghan people.
This carveout covers urgently needed humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan, such as those that primarily benefit poor or at-risk populations or otherwise relieve human suffering, including activities related to shelter and settlement assistance, food security, education, livelihoods support, energy, water, sanitation, health including COVID-19-related assistance, nutrition, and hygiene, among others.
The carveout for “humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs” provided by this resolution is intended to cover the activities contemplated in the United Nations Transitional Engagement Framework for Afghanistan.
The resolution also includes important reporting requirements for humanitarian assistance providers and for periodic updates by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator to be provided to the Security Council. It is essential for the Security Council to receive regular updates on the implementation of this resolution. Such information is critical to enabling sufficient oversight to ensure that assistance is reaching the intended beneficiaries by mitigating diversion. The reporting requirements will also ensure any future adjustments to the carveout are based on realities on the ground.
The Security Council calls on humanitarian assistance providers and those undertaking activities to meet basic human needs to employ risk management and due diligence processes, and to take all reasonable efforts to ensure assistance is not diverted to UN-listed individuals or otherwise misused or misappropriated.
The adoption of this resolution highlights how UN sanctions regimes can be flexible and adjust to address urgent issues such as humanitarian crises while remaining viable tools to address threats to international security.
We believe the UN role in coordinating humanitarian operations in Afghanistan is more critical than ever. The United States will continue to do its part to support the Afghan people, while also holding the Taliban accountable for following through on its commitments.
Thank you, Mr. President.
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