UCLG-MEWA expresses grave concern and sympathies towards the families of the victims of the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan that hit the country’s Paktika Province on June 21 and resulted in more than a thousand deaths and many more injuries.
There is a need for immediate international attention to provide emergency aid and urgent assistance to thousands affected severely by the earthquake. Afghanistan has been war-ravaged for many decades, and people have faced the worst forms of hunger and poverty. The Government of Afghanistan has been experiencing significant challenges to restore the functioning of its emergency response capacities due to international sanctions and the frozen Afghan assets abroad.
We would like to appeal to the international community to offer their support and provide the much needed humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of impoverished Afghanistan. We call for the global community of local governments to stand in solidarity with the Afghan local governments, which have been struggling to provide services under extremely difficult conditions. We also urge United Nations and other inter-governmental organizations to advocate for the waiver of sanctions on Afghanistan and the release of the frozen assets, as humanitarian issues should be held above any political agendas and complications of international relations.