Afghanistan at risk of total breakdown: UN warns

Deborah Lyons, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Afghanistan, on Thursday warned that Afghanistan is at risk of “total breakdown” if the international community does not find a way that allows money to flow to Afghanistan.

Briefing the UN Security Council via video link, Deborah Lyons stated that “Afghanistan’s humanitarian catastrophe can deepen even further if the international community fails to take some immediate critical steps.” “A way must be found, and quickly, that allows money to flow to #Afghanistan to prevent a total breakdown of the economy and social order,” Lyons.

She noted that the failure of the international community in Afghanistan does not justify abdication from its consequences.

 The UN Envoy emphasized that the Afghan people must not be abandoned again.

 “The international community can help prevent a severe economic downturn that could throw millions into poverty and hunger, generate mass migration and set Afghanistan back for generations, Lyons stated.

 She stated that “there is an immediate and pressing need to deliver, on a huge scale, essential humanitarian aid in areas such as health, food security, non-food items, She also warned of the looming crisis because “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 [Islamic Emirate] administration.

The 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,” Lyons said She suggested that the Afghan economy “must be allowed to breathe for a few more months, giving the Taliban [Islamic Emirate] a chance to demonstrate flexibility and a genuine will to do things differently this time, notably from a human rights, gender, and counter-terrorism perspective.”