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Staff reduction not to halt relief

A UN move to temporarily reduce staff from Afghanistan as a “precautionary measure” is not expected to reduce assistance to vulnerable Afghans, a UN spokeswoman told IRIN on Wednesday. The temporary staffing measure was a safeguard following an announcement by senior US and Russian officials that they have introduced a resolution to the UN Security Council to increase existing sanctions against the ruling Taliban Islamic Movement of Afghanistan. Stephanie Bunker, spokeswoman for the Office of the UN Coordinator in Afghanistan, stressed that the UN remained committed to providing assistance to war-torn Afghanistan and that, despite the short-term reduction of a limited number of staff, humanitarian relief programmes would continue. “We hope that no matter what happens, the security situation in Afghanistan will not deteriorate, so that we can continue to do our work,” she said. Earlier Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban ambassador in Islamabad, told IRIN that the Taliban would continue to support humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, and he hoped it would continue to be administered impartially. However, on Sunday, the Taliban said it was prepared to shut down the office of the UN’s political wing - the UN Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA) - if further sanctions were imposed, according to an AP report. The Taliban maintained that more sanctions would only hurt ordinary people in the impoverished nation and prolong the Afghan civil war. According to the Office of the UN Coordinator, there is a widespread perception in Afghanistan today that the existing sanctions have disrupted trade, increased the cost of basic necessities and caused extreme suffering. “While this is not true, most ordinary Afghans believe it to be so,” a statement from the office said. This had contributed to a sense of isolation among Afghans, and a belief that they were being victimised by the international community, the statement said.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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