FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 14, 2022

PRESS CONTACT

Joseph Azam | joseph@afghanamericans.org

AAF Response to the Establishment of Fund for the People of Afghanistan by the United States and its Partners to Address Frozen Funds

(Washington, DC) – In May of this year, the Afghan-American Foundation hosted a conversation between Special Representative for Afghanistan and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Tom West and Afghan-American leaders and community members in Washington, D.C.. A significant portion of our public and private discussions with Special Representative West focused on the economic crisis in Afghanistan and the fact that the freezing of Afghan Central Bank assets was exacerbating the suffering of the people of Afghanistan. One of the solutions we discussed with Special Representative West and his team was the establishment of mechanism outside of Afghanistan that would allow for some immediate relief from the impasse that has been stifling the Afghan economy and the Afghan people for over a year.

Today, the United States Department of Treasury and the Department of State, in coordination with international partners including the government of Switzerland and Afghan economic experts, announced the establishment of a fund to benefit the people of Afghanistan, or the “Afghan Fund.”

Based on initial reports and the stated intention of the fund’s creators, it is designed to mitigate the humanitarian and economic crises Afghans have been enduring for over a year while not providing the Taliban with unfettered access to several billion dollars of funds. While we support any action that could potentially break the stalemate that has led to a deep liquidity crisis, widespread food insecurity, and a decimation of the Afghan workforce, we believe that this is at best a short-term solution. We are encouraged by the fact that the Board of Trustees overseeing the the Afghan Fund and authorized to make targeted disbursements includes Afghan economists familiar with the complexities of the Afghan economy and the need for creating macroeconomic stability but it should not be forgotten that the most damaging impacts of the economic crisis are felt by ordinary Afghans and solutions and disbursements must take into account the need to address the microeconomic needs of Afghans.

We strongly believe that the ultimate goal should be to return these funds to the Central Bank of Afghanistan (DAB). The international community — both governments and international financial community — have made clear the steps that DAB must take to restore confidence and demonstrate that it has the independence and capacity to perform the duties of a central bank and work for the benefit of the Afghan people. Given the circumstances, including the uncertainty around the Taliban’s ability to govern responsibly, we see these steps as reasonable. Ultimately, given its de facto control of Afghanistan, it is now the responsibility of the Taliban to create the conditions that would allow for DAB to meet the expectations of the international community, including guarantees that DAB would be independent from interference; implementation of anti-money laundering and countering-the-financing-of-terrorism (AML/CFT) controls that would ensure that Afghanistan does not continue to attract criminal elements that would bring further harm and violence to Afghanistan; and credible third-party oversight that would allow the international community to have confidence that its investments and aid to Afghanistan will reach the people of Afghanistan.

“Today’s announcement illustrates the complex realities facing Afghanistan and the international community following the Taliban’s takeover of the country last year. It’s a step in the right direction insofar as it begins to release the stranglehold on the Afghan economy and it gets these funds closer to the hands of the Afghan people but it remains to be seen if it goes far enough to alleviate their deep suffering,” said Joseph Azam, Board Chair of the Afghan-American Foundation, “the ultimate goal remains to get these funds back to the Afghan Central Bank but for that to happen the Taliban must create the conditions to get the international community comfortable with that. The world has had no choice but to deal with the realities of the post-collapse Afghanistan, the Taliban must deal with and accept those realities as well.”

The Afghan-American Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization representing and advancing the interests of Afghans and Afghan-Americans through advocacy, research, education and engagement.

www.afghanamericans.org

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