To: US government and the people
Frozen Afghan Funds Must Go To Central Bank of Afghanistan
• First, the administration must rescind the executive order and ensure all of the $7.1 billion in reserves are used to allow the Central Bank of Afghanistan (or Da Afghanistan Bank, DAB) to perform its basic functions. None of the $3.5 billion should be used for humanitarian means, an obligation that the United States can fulfill with its own resources. Afghan reserves belong to the Afghan people.
• Secondly, the United States should pay the salaries of unpaid loyal civil servants in Afghanistan and should provide Afghanistan with urgent and immediate sanctions relief.
• The United States should also make an outsized pledge in additional emergency funding for the United Nations’ 2022 humanitarian appeal, in addition to its current contribution. The US has a moral obligation to repair harm to the Afghan people through this aid.
• Lastly, I urge you to support the Merkley (D-OR)/Connolly (D-VA) letter on Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.
• Secondly, the United States should pay the salaries of unpaid loyal civil servants in Afghanistan and should provide Afghanistan with urgent and immediate sanctions relief.
• The United States should also make an outsized pledge in additional emergency funding for the United Nations’ 2022 humanitarian appeal, in addition to its current contribution. The US has a moral obligation to repair harm to the Afghan people through this aid.
• Lastly, I urge you to support the Merkley (D-OR)/Connolly (D-VA) letter on Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.
Why is this important?
Last Friday, President Biden issued an executive order seizing Afghan reserves, belonging to the Afghan people, giving away half of it to the families of the September 11th families. This decision is cruel and will worsen the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Afghans had no hand in that painful day and Afghans too, have been the victims of senseless violence for decades. We too, have lost friends, family and had to become refugees because of it. We feel their pain.
This executive order and the economic strangulation of the Afghan economy serve as collective punishment on a people already on the brink of starvation. That is why today, we are asking you to help us take action by calling, emailing, and tweeting in support of the Afghan people. We urge you to reach out to your Congressional representatives (two Senators and one Congressperson) to let them know: Afghan funds belong to the Afghan people. We've laid out a plan in which the reserves are gradually given to the Central Bank of Afghanistan, with enough safeguards to prevent the Taliban from misusing these important reserves.
As has been widely reported, roughly 21 million Afghans do not know where their next meal is coming from. About one million Afghan children are anticipated to die from starvation. All the while, over a million Afghans, have already fled the country. As António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, said last month: “For Afghans, daily life has become a frozen hell.”
We are asking today for your to advocate for Afghans so that this frozen hell does not continue for them. Thank you for taking a stand on this important issue. Together, we can make a change.
Afghans For A Better Tomorrow Team
This executive order and the economic strangulation of the Afghan economy serve as collective punishment on a people already on the brink of starvation. That is why today, we are asking you to help us take action by calling, emailing, and tweeting in support of the Afghan people. We urge you to reach out to your Congressional representatives (two Senators and one Congressperson) to let them know: Afghan funds belong to the Afghan people. We've laid out a plan in which the reserves are gradually given to the Central Bank of Afghanistan, with enough safeguards to prevent the Taliban from misusing these important reserves.
As has been widely reported, roughly 21 million Afghans do not know where their next meal is coming from. About one million Afghan children are anticipated to die from starvation. All the while, over a million Afghans, have already fled the country. As António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, said last month: “For Afghans, daily life has become a frozen hell.”
We are asking today for your to advocate for Afghans so that this frozen hell does not continue for them. Thank you for taking a stand on this important issue. Together, we can make a change.
Afghans For A Better Tomorrow Team