Urge President Biden and Congress to help Afghans
Dear John,
Everyone should be able to meet essential needs. But today, people in Afghanistan face widespread hunger. Businesses and the government are unable to pay workers. Half a million people have lost their jobs, and the U.N. has warned that without change up to one million children could die of acute malnutrition. It’s the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
Unfortunately, U.S. policy is helping to drive the country's economic collapse. That’s why AFSC is joining with Daily Kos and other partners to get as many people as possible to sign a petition urging change. Will you add your name?
The U.S. controls Afghanistan’s foreign currency reserves — over $9 billion in assets. That includes $2 billion in assets belonging to private Afghan citizens. These funds used to be released to Afghanistan’s central bank regularly. But transfers were halted when the Taliban came back into power, and the U.S. government has now said it will permanently confiscate these funds. This means that the Afghan government cannot make payments. Private Afghan citizens have had their savings stolen. Afghan banks can’t access funds to make loans and conduct business. And sustainable economic activity has halted.
Humanitarian agencies can fill some gaps, but fears of U.S. sanctions stop much assistance and make finding a sustainable solution impossible. If things stay as they are, nearly every Afghan citizen could be living in poverty by mid-2022.
Please join us in urging Congress and the Biden administration to act.
We’re asking them to:
- End the freeze on Afghanistan central bank funds. This will inject liquidity into the collapsing Afghan economy.
- Lift sanctions, allowing Afghan banks to access their overseas holdings and the global financial system.
- Pledge additional emergency funding toward the United Nations' 2022 humanitarian aid appeal and end practices that block international and humanitarian aid.
- Increase assistance to Afghan refugees. This includes increasing the capacity of the resettlement program here in the U.S.
Thank you for supporting our efforts! Sign the petition today.
In peace,
Kerri Kennedy
Associate General Secretary for International Programs
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