UN explains its cash shipment process

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Monday issued an information sheet clarifying its cash shipments to Afghanistan and said this mechanism has been essential in providing life saving humanitarian assistance.

According to the document, the United Nations says it transports cash into Afghanistan for use by UN agencies. The UN reportedly uses the funds to conduct its work in Afghanistan, primarily in providing critical humanitarian assistance to millions of Afghans requiring support.

A central reason the UN brings cash into Afghanistan is due to the disruption to international banking transfers and liquidity issues since August 2021, the organization stated adding that all cash brought into Afghanistan is reportedly placed in designated UN accounts in a private bank for use by the United Nations.

The funds are then distributed directly to the United Nations entities, as well as to a small number of approved and vetted humanitarian partners in Afghanistan, read the document.

“None of the cash brought in to Afghanistan is deposited in the Central Bank of Afghanistan nor provided to the Taliban (IEA) de facto authorities by the UN,” the document read.

The UN said the cash transfer mechanism has proved to be essential in the provision of life-saving assistance to more than 25 million Afghans by the UN in Afghanistan, including UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, UN Women, OCHA, UN Habitat, WHO, FAO, IOM and others, who manage expenditures in line with their own operational processes and priorities.

The cash brought into Afghanistan for use by the UN and approved partners is carefully monitored, audited, inspected and vetted in strict accordance with the UN financial rules and processes.

Since this transfer mechanism commenced in December 2021, the UN has brought in to Afghanistan approximately US$1.8 billion in funds for the United Nations and partners to conduct their work, the UN stated, adding that the organization does not comment on the methods, timings, dates and amounts of individual cash shipments.

The need for further cash shipments for the United Nations in Afghanistan is reportedly dependent on multiple factors including, but not limited to, whether the banking sector is sufficiently robust to enable bank transfers and upon the financial requirements of UN entities to conduct their work.

The amount of cash brought in to Afghanistan is proportional to the UN’s program of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, the UN stated and noted that if the volume of assistance that the UN is able to provide diminishes the amount of cash shipped will be reduced.

The current process of bringing in cash for the United Nations remains the most feasible means of ensuring donor funds can quickly reach the millions of Afghan men, women and children who are in urgent need of aid, the document stated.