The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
OCHA /UNHCR hybrid press conference - Launch of 2022 humanitarian response plans for Afghanistan and the region
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1:10:22
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MP4
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4 GB
STORY: Afghanistan Appeal – OCHA, UNHCR
TRT: 3’32”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 10 January 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flags flying.
- Medium shot, press conference room, press photographer, masked and crouching, taking picture of podium speakers to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths: “Today we are launching an appeal for $4.4 billion for Afghanistan itself for 2022. This is the largest ever appeal for a single country for humanitarian assistance and it is three times the amount needed, and actually fundraised in 2021.”
- Medium shot: TV camera operators in profile.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths: “This is a stop-gap, an absolutely essential stop-gap measure that we are putting in front of the international community today. Without this being funded, there won’t be a future, we need this to be done, otherwise there will be outflow, there will be suffering.”
- Close-up, hand holding a stylus being used to take digital notes on a tablet.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths: “A million children potentially suffering severe acute malnutrition, a million children, it, figures are so hard so grasp when they’re this kind of size, but a million children at risk of that kind of malnutrition if these things don’t happen is a shocking one.”
- Medium shot, participant seated in front of laptop, masked.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths: “Humanitarian agencies inside Afghanistan can only operate if there’s cash in the economy which can be used to pay officials, salaries, costs, fuel and so-forth; so, liquidity in its first phase is a humanitarian issue, it’s not just a bigger economic issue.”
- Wide shot, press room, photographer crouching to photograph podium speakers, journalists seated at tables, masked.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi: “The key here is to stabilize the situation inside Afghanistan, including that of displaced people who are displaced inside their country. Also, to prevent a larger refugee crisis, a larger crisis of external displacement.”
- Medium shot: photographer kneeling with large telephoto lens, flanked by press conference participants.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi: “It is key I think not to forget that there is a regional dimension to this crisis, represented by the Afghan refugees but also Afghans with many other ‘stay’ arrangements in neighbouring countries in particular, especially in Pakistan and Iran that have hosted Afghans for more than 40 years; but also Central Asian States.”
- Close-up: showing a pen being used to scribble notes on notepad.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi: “This is why in this segment of this big appeal, of this $5 billion appeal, the segment worth just over $600 million, we’re asking for resources to support the neighbouring countries.”
- Close-up: Filippo Grandi in the TV camera viewfinder and at podium, to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi: “Our colleagues are there every day, and that’s what they talk about every day; they certainly talk about access, and delivery and needs, but they also talk about women at work, women in school - girls in school - rights of minorities, but it’s that space that we need to preserve.”
- Medium shot from ground level: TV crews with cameras on tripods, large screen TV showing podium speakers.
- Close-up: Martin Griffiths on TV camera viewfinder and to rear at podium and on big-screen TV, blurred.
- Medium-wide shot: TV cameras in foreground, podium speakers to rear.
UN launches largest single country aid appeal to prevent Afghanistan’s collapse
The UN and partners launched a more than $5 billion funding appeal for Afghanistan on Tuesday, in the hope of shoring up collapsing basic services there, which have left 22 million in need of assistance inside the country and 5.7 million people requiring help beyond its borders.
Speaking in Geneva, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said that $4.4 billion was needed for the Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan alone, “to pay direct” to health workers and others, not the de facto authorities.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called for $623 million, to support refugees and host communities in five neighbouring countries, for the Afghanistan Situation Regional Refugee Response Plan.
“Today we are launching an appeal for $4.4 billion for Afghanistan itself for 2022,” said Mr. Griffiths. “This is the largest ever appeal for a single country for humanitarian assistance and it is three times the amount needed, and actually fundraised in 2021.”
The scale of need is already enormous, both UN officials stressed, warning that if insufficient action is taken now to support the Afghanistan and regional response plans, “next year we’ll be asking for $10 billion”.
Mr. Griffiths added: “This is a stop-gap, an absolutely essential stop-gap measure that we are putting in front of the international community today. Without this being funded, there won’t be a future, we need this to be done, otherwise there will be outflow, there will be suffering.”
Rejecting questions that the funding would be used to support the Taliban’s grip on de facto government, Mr. Griffiths insisted that it would go directly into the pockets of “nurses and health officials in the field” so that these services can continue, not as support for State structures.
UN aid agencies describe Afghanistan’s plight as one of the world’s most rapidly growing humanitarian crises.
According to UN humanitarian coordination office OCHA, half the population now faces acute hunger, over nine million people have been displaced and millions of children are out of school.
Asked to describe what might happen if sufficient support was not forthcoming, the UN emergency relief chief replied that he was particularly concerned for one million children now facing severe acute malnutrition. “A million children, it - figures are so hard so grasp when they’re this kind of size - but a million children at risk of that kind of malnutrition if these things don’t happen is a shocking one.”
But humanitarian agencies and their partners who will receive the requested funding directly can only do so much, Mr. Griffiths explained, before reiterating his support for the 22 December UN Security Council resolution that cleared the way for aid to reach Afghans, while preventing funds from falling into the hands of the Taliban.
“Humanitarian agencies inside Afghanistan can only operate if there’s cash in the economy which can be used to pay officials, salaries, costs, fuel and so-forth,” he said. “So, liquidity in its first phase is a humanitarian issue, it’s not just a bigger economic issue.”
He added: “My message is urgent: don’t shut the door on the people of Afghanistan. Humanitarian partners are on the ground, and they are delivering, despite the challenges. Help us scale up and stave off wide-spread hunger, disease, malnutrition and ultimately death by supporting the humanitarian plans we are launching today.”
Highlighting the need to avoid a wider regional crisis emanating from Afghanistan, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi insisted that what was needed most was “to stabilize the situation inside Afghanistan, including that of displaced people who are displaced inside their country. Also, to prevent a larger refugee crisis, a larger crisis of external displacement.”
Nonetheless, Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours had sheltered vulnerable Afghans for decades, Mr. Grandi explained, as he appealed for $623 million in funding for 40 organizations working in protection, health and nutrition, food security, shelter and non-food items, water and sanitation, livelihoods and resilience, education, and logistics and telecoms.
No-one should forget “that there is a regional dimension to this crisis, represented by the Afghan refugees but also Afghans with many other ‘stay’ arrangements in neighbouring countries in particular,” Mr. Grandi said, “especially in Pakistan and Iran that have hosted Afghans for more than 40 years, but also Central Asian States.”
Since the Taliban takeover last August, women’s and girls’ rights have continued to come under attack, OCHA noted in a statement, “while farmers and herders are struggling amid the worst drought in decades and the economy is in freefall”.
On the issue of protecting fundamental rights, Mr. Griffiths underlined the fact that UN humanitarians were continuing to hold “conversations” with Afghanistan’s de facto authorities at a national and sub-national level, on issues such as aid and education access for all.
Echoing that message, UN refugee chief Mr. Grandi noted that humanitarians on the ground were well aware of the importance of stressing the need to protect the rights of minorities and other vulnerable Afghans.
“Our colleagues are there every day, and that’s what they talk about every day; they certainly talk about access, and delivery and needs, but they also talk about women at work, women in school - girls in school - rights of minorities, but it’s that space that we need to preserve.”
ends
Teleprompter
Good afternoon, Good morning.
For those who are connecting from New York, welcome to this press conference here in Geneva, this hybrids press conference on the launch of the 2022 humanitarian response plans for Afghanistan and the region.
We have the great honour today to have with us Mr.
Martin Griffiths, the UN and the Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and, on my right, Mr Filippo Grandi, the UN **** Commissioner for Refugees.
Before starting this press conference, I would like to remind everybody that it is under strict embargo.
Strict.
Embargo until the 11th of January, which is tomorrow at six AMCT.
So for those of you who are following, following us from New York, 6 hours ahead in Geneva at 6:00 AM CET.
So I without further ado, I'd give the floor to Martin Griffiths for his initial remarks, followed by the initial remarks of Mr Grandy, and then we will take the questions from the journalist.
Martin, you have the floor.
Thank you very much indeed, and thank you all for attending this important day.
Today we launched the largest ever humanitarian response plan for a single country, $4.4 billion for assistance inside Afghanistan, and as Filippo will explain, a further amount for assistance to the region affected by the Afghanistan conflict.
This is 3 times the amount.
I'll start again.
Yeah, maybe we can hear you from mine, but.
Maybe you shall I start again, see if we get it right this time.
OK, better.
Sergeant, should we start again?
Yeah.
OK, OK.
Today we are launching an appeal for $4.4 billion for Afghanistan itself for 20/22.
This is the largest ever appeal for a single country for humanitarian assistance and it is three times the amount needed and actually fundraised in 2021.
It's a great pleasure and privilege for me to be sitting here with Filippo.
And this emphasises the synergy between the regional response plan, which of course he will talk through with us, and the humanitarian response plan, the term we use for assistance inside Afghanistan.
I want to say a few words about what's happened, of course, in the last months, but also about the levels of need that this plan is pitched to respond to.
We all know and watch the events of the second-half of the year in Afghanistan.
We all saw the takeover in in Kabul from the 15th of August, the establishment of a new administration, the need for new working relationships for all of us in the humanitarian community and a new reality for the people of Afghanistan, A reality which was added to a situation all already of exceptional gravity in terms of humanitarian need.
And that's why we have been able to see the prospect of a plan much bigger, much more focused on meeting all those needs.
Afghanistan was already facing a problem of massive internal displacement and as Filippo will say, of external displacement.
Still today, almost 2,000,000 displaced people inside Afghanistan keen to return home.
Afghanistan was already facing a problem of food insecurity through drought and the effects of conflict.
And we we predict that this will happen again in this coming season.
23 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.
That's half or more of the whole population of the country.
Up to 1,000,000 Children under 5, if we do not get assistance to them, will suffer from severe and acute malnutrition.
We need to get food to the families where they live.
We need to get seeds to the farmers where they plough.
We need to get health services to the clinics in locations throughout the country.
And we need protection services for all those people who want to return home, need to be helped to return home.
And we need to be protected from the exigencies of the lingering effects of conflict and indeed of the the new political reality that they face.
This plan, the $4.4 billion for 2022 to which I speak, is well pitched and calculated to respond to those needs.
Now, the good news is that the 2021 plan was fully funded.
Many people will remember here in Geneva the launch by the Secretary General on 13th of September for a supplemental $600 million that was more than fully funded.
So in 2021, the generosity of donors and peoples around the world to Afghanistan was exceptional.
We are looking to the same exceptionalism for 20/22.
And what we're saying about this is very simple.
The plan can work.
The capacity of the agencies to make it happen is there, both in the region as well as in Afghanistan.
The money that is needed is needed fast.
It needed to keep the pipelines going of aid and is needed to make sure that the people of Afghanistan feel safe and secure enough to stay where they are and to go back to their homes, which of course they, like any of us, would see as a major priority.
One of the parts of this response plan is, as we have seen in 2021, efforts to keep the healthcare system going at the primary healthcare level.
The UN indeed put $45,000,000 into that for late 2021.
It's in there with UNICEF and WHO and of course partners with ICRC to keep that happening.
Without healthcare, people move and without food, of course people move.
And without protection, people move.
So we think this is a viable plan.
It's a fundable plan.
It's one that we can deliver on.
And frankly, it's one that I think the world has decided that we need to deliver on if we are to prevent further suffering.
For those people in Afghanistan who have had such a, such a, such an extraordinary experience these last two decades.
The good news also is that with difficulties with continuing adaptation, with continuing adjustment, the operating environment for humanitarian agencies in Afghanistan has improved.
Security for humanitarian agencies to reach people in need across the country is probably better now than it has been for many years.
Women and girls in the humanitarian sector are able largely, but not fully and not ultimately, you know, more work needs to be done, are able to operate within their humanitarian agencies.
We know that if women do not work within humanitarian agencies, women will not receive humanitarian assistance.
It's a quid pro quo as well as a right and entitlement and the and the promises that were made to the UN that were shown in that 13th of September launch here in Geneva have been monitored carefully, continue to be monitored carefully, continue to be monitored in detail at the sub national level and largely we are be make, we are making progress.
I only mentioned that not to praise those involved, but to say it's an important element in ensuring the effectiveness and efficacy of this plan.
It can work, it can be delivered.
It's, it's it.
We're very pleased today to be able to launch it together with, with UNHCR and with the **** Commissioner.
We're very pleased to be able to launch it in front of a a range of member states as well as our partners.
There are 160 partner organisations inside Afghanistan, almost all NGOs of course, as well as UN agencies, and they're the ones who will receive the money to deliver directly to the people who need it.
This is a direct delivery humanitarian operation and it is, it is designed as such with all the experience that agencies here and in the field have to make sure it works properly, that it's monitored adequately and that the money goes to where it needs to go.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Martin, for this initial remarks.
I'll give the floor now to Filippo Grandi David, a Commissioner for Refugees.
Philippe, we have the floor.
Thank you, Alessandra, and thank you, Martin.
In fact, first of all, I want to start by saying that what what what I will add now complements what Martin has already laid out, which is the crux of the matter.
The key here is to stabilise the situation inside Afghanistan and including that of displaced people who are displaced inside their country.
Also, to prevent a larger refugee crisis, a larger crisis of external displacement, taking advantage of this safer space that Martin spoke about.
I think there is an interesting figure that is not often quoted.
We estimate the UN estimates that there's about 3 1/2 million people displaced by conflict.
There's many more displaced by other factors, but by conflict alone.
Now we estimate that 170,000 have returned home since the 15th of August.
Interesting, maybe almost counter intuitive, but interesting.
But the reality is that people go back because the situation is more secure, there's less the conflict between the Taliban and the previous government is over.
And that has opened up some space of security, which I think we need to take advantage of.
But to do that, we need those resources that are part of this appeal.
Now, having said this and moving to the region, it is key, I think not to forget that there is a regional dimension to this, to this crisis represented by the Afghan refugees, but also Afghan with many other stay arrangement in, in, in neighbouring countries, in particular, especially in Pakistan and Iran that have hosted Afghans for now more than 40 years.
But also without forgetting Central Asian states that are part of this appeal as well that are, are very concerned about the possibility of further flows.
I I visited just like Martin.
We both visited Afghanistan in recent months.
I also visited many countries in the region, Iran, Pakistan.
I went to Turkey that hosts a very large contingent of Afghan refugees as well.
It's important not to forget there's more than 6,000,000 Afghans that live in the neighbouring countries alone.
This is 15% of the total Afghan population inside the inside the country.
The majority, in fact, have been there since before August 15 or the takeover of the Taliban.
But there are also new arrivals through though the the figures of the new arrivals are difficult to estimate for a variety of reasons that I can explain.
I was in Iran just a few weeks ago, just before Christmas.
The, the Iranian government estimates the new arrivals at half a million.
I it's difficult to confirm this figure also for the Iranian government because there's no, there's not an official detailed count.
We've been discussing how to do that.
Whatever the figure, it's substantive and it's something that needs to be looked at and supported.
This is why in this segment of this big appeal, of this 5 billion appeal, A segment worth just over 600 million, we're asking for resources to support the neighbouring countries.
Together with 40 partners.
Martin spoke about 160 partners inside.
Outside, we have about 40 partners.
The focus is, as you can imagine, on health, on education, on renewable energy, remembering an important point that in particular in the two biggest host countries, Pakistan and Iran, policies have always been very forward-looking, very generous, very inclusive.
Kids can go, Afghan kids can go to schools.
It's complex, but you know, generally they can work.
Access to Healthcare is also given.
So all of this does comes at a big cost that particularly at this time we're still in the COVID pandemic, still in the social and economic impact on the pandemic.
Very important to give a strong signal of support to those countries.
Also to encourage protection measures to be taken, documentation, registration and so forth, with of course, a very strong focus on women and children and with an element of preparedness should should God forbid, but we can't exclude anything at this point, further flows to be to happen.
Of course, refugee appeals that we have put out year in, year out for years, for decades now have been extremely difficult to fund in recent years.
We have, of course, observed a momentum in more support for Afghans after August, and we hope that this momentum will continue, like Martin said in 2022.
Now, just to conclude by saying that going back to the initial point and going back to Martin's presentation, whatever we do in Afghanistan is crucial.
And of course, first and foremost, good funding for this appeal and for this plan is fundamental.
We will keep working.
Humanitarian agencies will keep working with development actors and governments to look at how the crucial things can move.
Sustaining the economy, sustaining public services, this is urgent.
This is beyond this appeal, but it is extremely urgent because if that is not fixed, humanitarian assistance can keep the country running for some time, but it's time limited.
And then if the country collapses, implodes.
We've said it so many times, but it's worth repeating, then we may see a much bigger exodus of people.
I think, Martin, you said it very well.
If people do not have healthcare, they move and that movement of people will be difficult to manage in the region and beyond because it will not stop at the region.
So a strong appeal to begin from this humanitarian appeal, strong funding, extremely important, but we need to also look at the bigger picture going forward.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Philippo.
Thanks to both our speakers for this introductory remark remarks.
I'll take now the questions from the journalist, starting with the room.
Nice recognise Christophe.
Bonjour Christophe.
I think you needed the mic.
Sorry.
Christophe is the chief of office of AFP in Geneva.
And then I'll go to the platform.
Christophe, thank you for taking my question.
So the the appeal that you're launching is roughly 1/4 of Afghan GDP.
How do you don't you think that donors are going to worry that so much money and so much intervention is going to hollow out what their goal is with the sanctions, which is basically to get rid of the Taliban or to push them to change the way they do things?
Thank you.
I'm.
Really bad at this.
Yeah, sorry.
I want to pick up actually what Filippo, I think very wisely said at the end there is that we're operating in a larger context and humanitarian assistance should not be, I should, we would all agree to this should not be obliged to do things it's not set for, it's not put up for.
That's why partnership with development and economic actors is so important to preserve our space for what we know we can do well.
But to, to the question, first of all, it was most welcome to see the UN Security Council in the middle of December as you remember coming up with this really ground breaking exemptions for humanitarian operations for all these operations, a carve out, as they say, brought forward by the Security Council after a detailed negotiation.
It reflects also what we're seeing in Washington in terms of similar exemptions from the US sanctions legislation.
So we, we, we're much more comfortable now as operational agencies with the operating environment in terms of the, the moral hazard, if you like, of potential breach of sanctions and the chilling effect of agencies and companies worrying about being in breach if it's not clear.
So that was a, a huge help.
It is true that this level of appeal does look enormous vis a vis the GDP.
But it's worth remembering, of course, that Afghanistan has been propped up by external assistance, as you know, for 20 years.
And that stopped, a lot of it stopped on the 15th or the 31st of August.
So it's not surprising that you see humanitarians having to jump in where others fear to tread.
But what, as Filippo was saying, is don't rely on that.
This is stopgap action needs to be taken beyond that.
And that's why, as he was referring to, there is a need for and there's a lot of activity on mitigating the potential freefall of the economy, which is of vital importance to humanitarians because it's the necessary Outrigger that that keeps the the programme afloat.
I think people, hopefully many people who will be funding this appeal in this plan, will be quite comfortable about the fact that first of all, the exemptions from sanctions legislation exist.
Secondly, it's a direct delivery assistance programme.
It doesn't go to de facto authorities, it goes to the people in need.
It's very carefully calibrated for reasons we can all understand.
Thank you.
Hi, Commissioner.
Yeah.
I just want to add because you you mentioned that one of the purpose of the international community may be to.
Encourage the Taliban to move positively on, on all the issues that we know well.
I, I think that, you know, there is a very interesting correlation between all these dimensions.
Humanitarian assistance that, as Martin said, is directly to the people, is rapid, can be effective.
There is space now to do.
It also allows for the creation of a space of dialogue with the Taliban that is invaluable around these issues.
And this is what we've all been doing.
I mean, both Martin and I have been in Kabul talking to the Taliban.
But more importantly, our colleagues are there every day and that's what they talk about every day.
They certainly talk about access and delivery and needs, but they also talk about women at work, women in school, girls in school, rights of minorities.
But it, it's that space that we need to preserve because at the moment the, the political sphere is a little bit behind.
It's always like this in this situation.
So humanitarian delivery, humanitarian action not only fulfils immediate needs, which is vital, but also creates that space that then can be progressively developed and hopefully with time move towards stability and who knows, some form of normalisation.
But it will take time.
We fully recognise that.
That's why it's so urgent to fund this appeal because that time, during that time, people cannot wait.
People that are cold or without shelter or need healthcare, they need to get it now.
So that's why this is urgent.
Thank you very much.
I'll go now to the platform.
I recognise James Bays.
James, you who are the correspondent of Urgent 0 in New York.
Thanks for being with us in Geneva today.
You have the floor.
Lassandra, Under Secretary General, **** Commissioner, happy New Year to you all.
First question to the Under Secretary General back in September, both you and the Secretary General we're talking about the biggest risk being a total collapse of the Afghan financial.
System.
How big a worry is that as things stand now and what would it mean for your plan and to the **** Commissioner, what is the situation now at the borders?
My understanding is that all of the neighbours are not letting Afghans in.
I mean, is there any, if Afghans wanted to leave Afghanistan, is there any way to do so?
Or I mean other than trying to sneak across our border crossing illegally.
Thank you, James.
Let's start with the USG.
Thanks.
Thanks very much.
And again, as I seem to be doing regularly now, I'm going to pick up on what Filippo just said.
Actually this is a very, very well organised dialogue here because it's exactly what Filippo is saying, James, is that the the need for ensuring the the non collapse of the financial system, never mind it's survival is a central importance to Afghanistan, to the region, to the people in Afghanistan and to the programmes of work that we're trying to get funded today, both in the region and in Afghanistan.
Now the risks that we talked about on the 13th of September, the Secretary General talked about remain.
That's the short answer to the question.
It is not as if there have not been a great deal as there has been a great deal of discussion and preparation for how to mitigate the economic collapse.
But we still do not have a functioning central bank.
We still have frozen assets for all many reasons.
By the way, they're not all in the United States.
They're in many other countries as well, including here in Europe.
And we we still don't have the liquidity in the sector that is needed for humanitarian operations, let alone trade and business and that, you know, keeping, keeping the society going.
This issue of liquidity has been central to the ways in which we're looking to health, education and agriculture and livelihoods services to be refunded.
If you don't have liquidity, you can't deliver salaries, you can't deliver services.
A lot of work has been done on that.
And Philippe and I've been talking about it just today and indeed a couple of days ago.
I'll be in Washington this week to take that further with Peter Marra of ICRC.
So there has been work done, but we need to see the shoe hit the ground.
We need to see confidence being put back into the market so that Afghan businesses will know that they can manage to deliver services and that humanitarian agencies, the topic of today, will know that they can.
They will have ways to afford providing their salaries and cost to the people for whom they work over.
Hi, Commissioner.
Thanks James for the question.
I I the situation is as follows along the two main borders, Pakistan and Iran.
It's certainly not open to everybody, but it's open to a rather wide array of categories, people with visas, with passports.
It, it's not always very clear and not always applied at every border post in the same way, but quite a number of people can cross.
And in fact, what we have observed, especially before the winter set in, because this is not a a season of great travels, is that much of the what I would call regular traffic was going on trade and, and, and family visits and back and forth, including traffic back into Afghanistan.
As far as people in need of protection, can they cross?
Because this is the the crucial, the crucial issue.
This is what we have been really highlighting with the two governments.
We said, we do understand that they are concerned about creating pull factors about massive flows that it will be difficult for them to handle considering they already host a very large number of, of Afghan refugees and others.
But we have made the point over and over again that people with very strong protection needs, I would say minorities, for example, single women, we, we've seen small numbers of these categories trying to cross as well.
They should be, they should be considered irrespective of whatever documentation they have because they need basically protection and asylum, international protection.
And the the response on that is not always very clear and systematic.
But in many, many cases we have been able to secure asylum and protection for these people.
Not always, but in many cases, certainly in Pakistan but also in Iran.
And this was one of the main topics that I discussed during my visit in December.
And that was the reply that I got from the Iranians, that these 500,000 people that they're talking about are people that they believe should be taken in no matter what their documentation, because they are in need of protection.
Like I said, this is not a figure that I can endorse or, or, or confirm, but it is a sizeable figure.
And I, I, I think it is correct that these are people that we would qualify as refugees and that need, need attention.
So it's, it's a bit of a mixed picture.
The last point I want to make is that why is it like this?
It is like this because those two countries are wary of a large influx and they have observed international assistance decline year after year, especially in the last 10 years, 15 years or so.
And This is why it is so important that as part of the effort that we're asking donors to make, they consider also continuing and increasing support to the neighbouring countries.
Thank you very much to both our speakers.
I'll go now, still in New York, to Ibtism Azam, who I believe is the correspondent of Al Arabi Aljadi newspaper.
Thank you.
Yes, you are in.
Go ahead.
You're with Geneva.
Go ahead.
Thank you.
My name is Samadhan from Al Arabi Al Jadid newspaper.
My first question is to Mr Griffith also again on the frozen assets and liquidity.
And I want to understand something here or maybe before the the Afghan budget, before the Taliban took over 70% or I think 75% was coming from foreign countries.
So how do you see that?
And I believe that now probably we're not going to.
See similar numbers.
So you talked about frozen assets and liquidity and that.
There are some steps that were made on this regard, but there's more to be done.
Could you explain more?
And.
How?
Do you want to get?
Put back the market, the economy back.
And to Mr Grundy, if I'm not, if I understand correctly, there's about 2,000,000 Afghanis who are internally displaced, which challenges they are facing?
To go back their home.
Thank you, USG.
Thank you very much.
The need for first of all, as you say, what happened in August was a very, very significant, serious threatening to the economy and the welfare of the people of Afghanistan.
Freeze on international support for all kinds of aspects of Afghan life.
The economy in particular, as you know.
And in many, many different ways, as became clear in the subsequent weeks, where we were able to see, for example, that the banking system, which is the heart of, I think our discussion on this issue, had been very successfully supported from outside, particularly to do with foreign exchange in ways which were then interrupted, of course.
And there were, there were many links, particularly back into the United States, which were suspended.
So a lot of work has been done since then LED actually by the humanitarian operational needs in particular.
Because as as I was trying to say earlier in response to, to James Bae's, humanitarian agencies within Afghanistan can only operate if the, if there's cash in the economy, which can be used to pay officials salaries, costs, fuel and so forth.
So liquidity in, in in its first phase is a humanitarian issue.
It's not just a bigger economic issue and encouraging the banking system to get back in the game and to be supported, but also to be liberated from worries about the possible infringement of sanctions has been a constant discussion in this last months of last year, since the end of August and much progress has been made.
But as I said earlier, more needs to be done.
We need to, to, we need to, to inject now beyond the humanitarian.
We need to inject business confidence and in particular there needs to be a free flow of currency to enable Afghanis, the currency, the the local currency to be sufficient for the purposes of the people of Afghanistan, whether economic, commercial, welfare or or other.
And that's why I mentioned earlier the need for some kind of reaffirmation of the central bankroll.
Now it's complicated, of course, it's complicated by politics.
And I perfectly understand that.
We speak, I think, only from the point of view of need and we speak clearly, I think, from the point of view of need, that these economic, banking, fiscal issues are central to allowing the people of Afghanistan to take a second breath and to stay home and to prosper and to flourish and not to have the effect that Filippo has so vividly described.
There are moves.
I think there was, as I said, the Security Council move in December was extremely welcome.
We've seen the same in Washington also.
We know that the UN Security Council exemptions have a snapback effect on national legislation of other countries which have sanctions regimes on Afghanistan.
So I think there's there's much to be done there, but there's also still more to be done.
And I think I would quote again, Filippo, which is this, this is a stopgap, an absolutely essential stopgap measure that we are putting in front of the international community today.
Without this being funded, there won't be a future.
We need this to be done.
Otherwise they will, there will be outflow, there will be suffering.
But that doesn't mean to say that we shouldn't already be thinking of the context as you were saying, we shouldn't already be thinking.
And as, as you say, our colleagues in Afghanistan are talking daily about what are the, what are the ways in which Afghanistan is genuinely stabilised for the welfare of its people and for the region.
Those discussions are happening, they're important, they're urgent, and I hope they will bring the right results soon.
Thank you.
Thank you, USG **** Commissioner.
So the if you, you will see that in the HRP, the humanitarian response plan, actually the total number of internally displaced people, I just checked again to be absolutely sure is in excess of 9 million in Afghanistan.
If you take all groups that have been displaced in the past 10 years by drought, by national, by national, by natural disaster, by floods, by and of course by conflict, the estimate of those displaced by conflict is about the third or bit more three and a half million.
And like I said, it's an, that is an interesting new development if you wish, 700,000, sorry 170,000, especially among those more recently arrived that are returning home.
So this is the statistical picture, if you wish.
And why are not more people going back home?
I think it's, as usual, a mix of motives.
You have people that are still concerned about their security, and I'm pretty sure that, for example, people from minorities will have some concerns about their security in this uncertain political context in Afghanistan.
This is why it's so important to continue to talk about the right of minorities, inclusive government and other important political tracks.
There are people that are more worried about basic security issues.
There's still a sizeable insurgency at this point, anti Taliban insurgency in the country.
That may represent risk for some, but I think that the vast majority of people are not going back because they know that back home they don't have the basic services, they don't have jobs.
All the things that we need to work on, 1st through humanitarian assistance, but then much more importantly through the re mobilisation of the economy that we have been speaking about.
This is really the fundamental reason why most people are not going back home.
And this is not entirely new.
This was already the case before the 15th of August, but it has become much more urgent now in the in the current context that has been described to me.
The final point to me, the the key issue here is to transform this massive internal displacement, probably the biggest in the world in terms of numbers, massive internal displacement into or give it the potential for solutions, for return or baby solutions in places where people are displaced.
And to prevent this from becoming a massive external displacement, which you know, is a very major risk at this point.
So this is what, you know, this is really the way we need to look at this issue of internal.
Thank you very much, **** Commissioner.
Back to Geneva, I have the correspondent of the Swiss news agency, Laurent Sierra.
Laurent, Bonjour, Bonini Atolla Perol, thank you for taking my question.
Hi Commissioner.
You since August you've repeatedly called for an increase of of resettlement allocation by government of third countries.
So as the the situation improved in that regard.
Thank you.
Yeah, I, I was expecting somehow this question that always comes because it's not.
I hope I can be clear in my reply.
Resettlement, you know what it means in UNH language?
It means resettling people that are already refugee in one country to another country.
Resettlement that used to be a big programme for Afghan refugees over the years has dwindled to almost nothing, both from Pakistan and from Iran now.
This is why we have welcomed commitments made by a number of essentially Western countries to plan for increased resettlement of Afghan refugees from the region.
From the region means from Iran, from Pakistan and from Turkey as well.
Turkey hosts about 300,000 Afghan refugees, so that's welcome.
The complication is that as as you, we all know, the same countries have evacuated many Afghans from Afghanistan during the month of August, essentially people that had connections with them that have been working for the military, for their civilian infrastructures in, in in Afghanistan.
And I think that governments are still busy with a complex exercise to decide how much of this additional places for Afghans in their countries are going to be given to those evacuated and how many are going to be given to more traditional resettlement operations.
So we're still we're, you know, we have an advanced discussion with Canada that pledged 40,000 slots.
This is a lot, but many of them will be reserved for people that have already been evacuated.
We are discussing with the United States, the United States that have globally increased the number of their resettlement numbers to 125,000 globally.
But Afghans will have a sizeable part of it, I'm sure.
The United Kingdom and other countries are, are busy with the same.
It's a rather complex exercise because I want to also flag, don't forget that some of those evacuated are actually in, in third countries at the moment, waiting to be fully evacuated to the countries that has evacuated them.
They're waiting in many countries.
So we are, we are also in engaging complex discussions.
All of this to give you the details, which is quite complicated as I warned you.
The bottom line is that of course, we welcome this increased commitment to take more Afghans in need, in need.
I repeat, especially among the refugees, because let's not forget, besides financial support to host country, this is another gesture, small as it may be, hundreds of people, thousands of people, small compared to the millions, but an important gesture of what we would call responsibility sharing.
And something that I can assure you, having spoken to the governments of Iran and Pakistan is greatly appreciated, but needs to be implemented in a sizeable way and in a rapid way.
Thank you very much, **** Commissioner.
I have a question from Catherine Fiancongo Conga here in Geneva.
Catherine from Francois, do you have the floor?
Thank you so much, Alessandra.
Happy New Year to both gentlemen.
I have a question.
OK.
I'm being asked to put to turn on my video.
So I have a question for both gentlemen regarding education.
We know that the amount that you that that the amount for education is to support children to access education.
And I would like to know how you plan to handle the issue of access of girls.
As we know that Taliban government has decided to end mixed sex classes.
And to come back to what Filippo said, among the elements that are stopping people to go back home, you mentioned also the fact that in the two major hosting countries, meaning Pakistan and Iran, children are taken in the system school education.
So don't you think that that stops also parents to go back to Afghanistan knowing that maybe their girls won't be allowed to follow classes?
Thank you so much.
To both of.
You.
Thank you very much.
And I'm grateful for this question because of course it's had a lot of a lot of very necessary and important discussion internationally as well as in Afghanistan.
And and Filippo saying our colleagues in the field in Afghanistan are having daily conversations with authorities at national and sub national level about how to make sure that our beliefs, our values, our requirements, which is for the freedom of education for all, including women and girls at all levels is in fact one that is guaranteed in the new dispensation.
And promises were made to me when I was, you know, right about the same time as Filippo's in Kabul by Taliban authorities on this matter.
More, much more, much more needs to be done, that's for sure.
And we will continue to work on it.
I want to make, however, an additional point which I think emphasises your your emphasis on concern.
There are about 8 million children who are not in education or in ****** of not being in education.
Why?
Because teachers largely haven't been paid since August.
Whether you're a woman, a girl or a boy or most of your teachers have not been paid, schools are not open.
And that's why a lot of attention has gone to in terms of the discussions we've had about liquidity and, and, and supporting sectors to supporting the education sector.
We prioritise health as a life saving requirement for people, but we also, and UN XDR lives by this also live by the value that education is the essential component of a proper balance, a proper future, an entitlement to all people and we know it in our own families.
So supporting the education sector, which is partly frontline teachers, but it's partly the the structures that that underpin the education structure is very, very important.
And we do not rule it out simply because it is at the moment in this appeal.
The monetary response plan was focused, as you say, on a, on a smaller sector, on the one and a half million children that we want to reach.
We need efforts to prop up and support the education sector just as livelihoods, just as health.
And this is also being taken up in a different way by our colleagues looking at a broader transitional framework, which is another companion piece to what we're talking about today.
And I just want to mention that we hope to have a pledging conference, by the way, ideally in March, which will take up the issues of today, provide Member states have the opportunities to pledge in addition to what they pledged today, but also be able to take up these issues of important implementation and values.
And see what progress we can make between now and say, the middle of March, where we, I hope we'll be able to see more clearly and with the Afghan people see more clearly their future.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, USGA Griffiths.
And maybe it will be in Geneva.
We will be very happy to have you here on that.
I'll go now to Jan Heberman.
Jan is our correspondent for a number of German speaking media.
Jan.
Yes.
Good afternoon.
Can you hear me?
I can hear you loud and clear.
Go ahead.
OK, great.
Yes, good afternoon again.
I have a question for the USG and it's sort of a more general question on the prospects long term, long term prospects for Afghanistan.
You've mentioned that basically Afghanistan is has been dependent on on foreign money for for decades now.
And my question is when will Afghanistan stand it stand on it's own feet and when can Afghanistan and it's people survive without these massive international support?
Thanks.
We have a fight here.
Who would like to start?
I think that's very much that's a question for the **** Commissioner.
I imagine the crystal ball.
Can I start and then hand over to Philippo?
I don't know the answer to that question.
It's a very, very good and serious question, of course, but it's a question that is is to be put to those, those Member states who have actually generously supported Afghanistan over these many years and who we all think should continue to do so.
And what we're providing, I hope, is the opportunity for that generosity to be sustained.
But if there isn't, like in any other country, whether it's Syria, Afghanistan, Wales or anywhere else, if there isn't attention to enabling the economy to work and the services to be eventually paid through those sorts of measures, then there will not be a sustained and secure future.
And a sustained and secure future is needed and wanted and aspired to as much by the people in Afghanistan of course, as anywhere else.
So the sooner that we can move towards creating the operating environment which enables firstly this humanitarian and, and, and regional, you know, support for the humanity Afghan people, but goes beyond that to to enable the sinews of the Afghan economy and welfare system to be recreated, the sooner the better.
Thank you, **** Commissioner.
No, I don't have much to add other than to repeat what I've said several times before and even earlier today.
We won't get, we have, we should have no illusion we won't get to that state that Martin described without dialogue with the Taliban.
Now, dialogue doesn't mean recognition, doesn't mean at this particular point, dialogue means understanding where they're at, encouraging them to move in certain directions, especially on the matters that we've discussed, minorities, women, education.
These are the key issues I think at the moment, but also security, narcotics and so forth.
That's very, very, very important, that dialogue.
And my impression, it may be an impression, but you know, I've lived in that country many years and I've been visiting it almost every year.
My impression is that dialogue is possible.
And certainly, and I want to repeat this once again, our colleagues on the ground, the UN in general, the UN agencies in particular, are not shying away from that dialogue both ways.
I mean, when I went to see the Taliban in in Kabul, I said, you know, if you want, because their main message was the frozen assets and the international assistance.
Sure, this is important.
We fully understand that you need to make steps in the direction of things that are expected of you.
And at the same time the international community has to make some of those steps.
It will be a gradual process, but I think that we do have a chance.
It's going to be very difficult, very difficult.
But we do have a chance to make progress towards a better place.
You know, even in the, I don't know if we want to call them better years, but easier years, there were, there were issues that were very difficult for Afghans, lack of infrastructure, especially in some parts of the country and great insecurity that was never really resolved.
So we, you know, maybe we have an opportunity here through this dialogue, slowly, gradually, with a lot of patience, engaging in helping people until it's necessary, we have a chance to move towards a, a situation in which there will be that security for Afghans, for them to think of a better future inside Afghanistan and not outside.
Can I?
Completely support that and, and, and what Filippo has been saying and what you were doing when you were there.
And God knows, as you say, you've spent so much of your life in Afghanistan and in many different ways.
The opportunity, as you say, I think very much is there.
And what the obligation on the international community side is to be clear on expectations.
And as, as you were saying, but also again, as you were saying, with expectations come responsibilities.
And the international community also has responsibilities, as it has done in the past, if expectations are met to respond effectively.
And that dialogue, which is happening all the time in Afghanistan, also needs to take place, I think, more coherently and more articulately at an international level as we go into this really, really crucial year for Afghanistan.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Two more questions.
One comes from Nick Cumminbrous, our correspondent of The New York Times.
Nick, you have the floor.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you very much.
It's a question, really.
I just want to be clear how much of the 5 billion, if any, is actually, I mean, is all that 5 billion essentially going on goods and, and, and services or is there some also being some of that money going to paying for salaries of what have been government workers in the past?
Are we seeing some migration of people from government offices to humanitarian organisation?
And secondly, when you talk about progress in the discussions on reconstructing the kind of financial system, could you just give us a little bit more clarity on what progress has been made and what's actually holding things back?
Is it still a significant concern essentially about the character of the Taliban government?
And finally, what kind of understanding of these issues do you find on the part of Afghanistan's Taliban rulers?
I mean, they're not people who've been running governments.
How much flexibility do you have from them?
And do you see any real progress on that side in meeting the humanitarian concern to the international community?
Thank you.
3 questioning.
[Missing Subtitle]
Maybe I'll start with you as Jaggerfi.
Thanks very much.
Thank you, Nick.
Well, this, this humanitarian response plan does pay, provide for hopefully with funding the payment, for example, of frontline health workers.
And it is our contention in Afghanistan, as in many, many other countries, that, and we're not ashamed about this, that payment of salaries to these frontline officials is essential.
We, we, I, I, I spoke earlier about the need to pay teachers, part of a different process, but the same concept of needing to ensure that services for people are there with all the consequences if they're not, that Filippo has also described.
So, yes, it does.
But what it doesn't do, Nick, is to pay for Taliban structures.
So it is at the moment the, the, the, the, the modus operandi in this response plan is to pay direct to teachers, sorry to, to, to nurses and health officials, for example, in the field to pay costs to get the, the services there so that these services continue.
But it is not in this plan provided a which is not provided for a programme of support for state structures.
That is an issue which will come onto the table for discussion.
It already is.
But this plan is a strictly humanitarian life saving operation designed to, to feed money from generous donors through partners to the people who need it.
And to that extent, quite a lot of work has been done, including in very detailed dialogue with the Taliban to ensure that there's no, as it were, leakage across from one to the other.
But, you know, it's worth remembering that the the ministries that still operate for the large part in Kabul are staffed by the people who were staffing them before the 15th of August.
It's worth remembering that the Taliban bit, if you like, of those ministries, clearly the, the leadership role is, is limited.
I was, this partly goes to your third question.
I was lucky enough to have a meeting in, in Islamabad just in the on 19th of December with Mutaki Mullah Mutaki, who is an acting foreign minister.
Filippo met him in Kabul and we talked a lot about these economic issues and, and interestingly, in his delegation, which he had taken to Islamabad for that OIC conference, was the former was the current deputy Minister of Finance who had played the same role in the previous government.
And was, is, is, was, is a technocrat.
And he was very much part of the process of increasing the understanding of the sanctions of the, of the, of the, the economic and fiscal needs.
And it goes to the heart of what we were saying just a moment ago about the need for expectations and responses, to be clear.
But I, I'd like to add one other thing to this.
Yes, I'm, yes indeed.
And I think that that there has been an increasing understanding on the part of the Taliban about humanitarian operations and principles.
And for, you know, the Taliban has been operating with many colleagues like Filippo and others for the last 25 years.
They're not new to humanitarian operations.
So it's not a new discussion, but it has a new force obviously now because of their administration of the whole country.
But that's good, that's vital, that's important.
It's not sufficient, is it?
And Taliban understanding of the way the banking system works, the way business works, the the sort of freedoms that are needed for that, as well As for for women and girls and minorities and people, that is a whole area of understanding that is still yet to come.
And a very distinguished Afghan official was telling me yesterday, he said it's fine to increase the liquidity and the operation of the banking system in Afghanistan.
That is essential.
But also what's needed is inclusion in the Taliban administration with people who understand the needs of business, the needs of the economy, the needs of people beyond ideology.
So there's a very practical as well as values based need for inclusion as we go forward in 2022.
Thank you.
Hi, Commissioner.
Yeah, I also want to make two points in addition to what Martin said, which I agree very much with.
One is indeed the appeal.
This appeal asks for funds, including for civil servants or public workers in as much as that supports the humanitarian effort.
So if it it somehow it shows both the urgency of the appeal.
That's why it's important to fund it, because otherwise even the the the the very basic services cannot function.
But it shows it's, I take it with in courts limitations because this is not a plan to restart the public service.
It's, it's somewhere in between.
This is why this is a, a, an absolutely necessary first step or continuation of the first step.
But then it needs to be accompanied by larger efforts that we've been speaking about the, the and if those efforts are not successful, we will have to ask for 10 billion this next year, not 5 billion.
And there is a limit to what humanitarian assistance can do, as Martin said in the beginning.
The other point I wanted to make is on progress and take it from a very grass root perspective.
I was impressed even in in.
Well, impressed is maybe too strong, but I was I noticed in in September and I know that this has actually grown over the following months.
There is responsiveness on the part of the Taliban authorities both nationally and sub nationally to requests reports that we bring to their attention.
And this is not only about the more perhaps easy stuff like, you know, we don't have access to a certain warehouse or there is a commander who is difficult.
There is no, those responses are quite rapid usually, but there is responsiveness also when for example, there were they, they, they published regulation about women, UN staff, women staff allowed to work.
And of course you must all realise this is not a well structured system.
This is, this is an insurgency movement that has become the government in the space of a few weeks.
And therefore there is no system yet functioning in that sense chain of command not properly.
So it's more difficult issues like you know, those regulations where maybe endorsed centrally, but not in the provinces.
We were able first of all, we're always able to raise these issues.
We have to do it in a proper way, but we're able to do it.
But in many cases, not all the response is there, not all.
And it's still insufficient.
But there is, you know, an element of responsiveness and may I say, goodwill that I think we need to build upon.
Thank you very much.
And the last question also comes from AFP, Robin Miller.
Robin the floor.
Thanks very much.
Perhaps just to summarise what is at stake here, can you paint a picture of what life in Afghanistan would look like without this aid?
If it was not forthcoming, how bleak would the situation be?
Thank you.
Thank you.
No, no.
Yes, obviously, Robin.
Let me try.
I think the figure that stood out for me before coming here today was is the figure of a million, a million children potentially suffering severe acute malnutrition, a million children.
It is it.
The figures are so hard to grasp when they're this kind of size, but a million children in Afghanistan at risk of that kind of malnutrition if these things don't happen is a shocking one.
We also know from food insecurity, there's up to 8 million people in Afghanistan, again, still in Afghanistan, who are endangered in terms of food security, who are at at a level of food insecurity that will eventually lead to severe hunger, to what David Beasley has called a March to starvation and ultimately even possibly to famine because we haven't spoken about it much today.
But there's a drought, another drought, another ****** drought, which is hitting Afghanistan to make things worse in this in this situation.
So what we will see, I think if we don't deliver, I want to come back to that issue is my last comment.
But what we will see is distress at the family level, deaths at the family level, hunger, which is which makes people lose hope, movement, further displacement, external displacement even more difficult than internal displacement.
And most particularly, if I may say so, robbing the people of Afghanistan in a hope that their country will be their home and support now and in the near term.
That's what implementing both these appeals mean, I think for us today.
And I want to, I want to end with saying to reminding ourselves of a couple of things.
One is that the world has been very generous to Afghanistan in many different ways over the last many years.
They were the donors were very generous to Afghanistan in 2021.
We feel confident that the plan that we have put in front of you today, the regional plan, the humanitarian response plan is doable.
It's fundable and the money is potentially there to do that.
And if it's done, then I would like to turn this question, Robin, around to say if these things do succeed as opposed to if they don't, what will we see?
We will see the opportunity, I think, for an Afghanistan which may finally see the fruits of some kind of security.
Filippos rightly reminded us that there are opportunities today which haven't existed in Afghanistan for some time.
It's a difficult path, but dialogue is happening, negotiation is happening.
We've seen direct improvements in areas in around the country, better security, lots more to be done, but an open door to dialogue and one in which we have responsibilities to make sure that we participate fully, we being the international community.
But for today, I think this plan, these appeals can provide some kind of hope that that region will no longer have the blight that has been, it's been suffering for, as Filippo says, 40 years, 40 years of insecurity, of displacement.
It's got to stop.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, USG and the final word, Commissioner.
Well, I think those were already the final words, but I can do APS maybe.
And just to say that, you know, as many of you know well, I've been in this job for six years now and I have never really used the ****** or the fear of displacement as an encouragement to do more to fund appeals and so forth.
I'm always very prudent in forecasting, in other words, displacement force displacement to put pressure on donors.
But I do think that this is an almost inevitable scenario if to begin with the appeal is not funded or not funded.
Well, I hope it won't happen because what we saw in September with the conference here in Geneva chaired by the Secretary General, the response was really incredible.
Surely it was in the in very close to the events of August.
So there was a lot of interest and attention.
But I I hope that that interest and attention are sustained and they must be sustained.
This is not going to be resolved and go away very quickly.
So the challenge will now be to sustain this attention and to found very, very large appeal.
But I do trust that it will happen.
But if it won't, you know, from my perspective here, I speak strictly from the perspective of the **** Commissioner for Refugees, I think it's almost inevitable that we will see people seeking opportunities elsewhere.
And if, if I may be even a little bit more specific, if the external part of the appeal is not well funded, the, the, the part concerning Iran, Pakistan and other countries which you know, has always been a struggle for the past few years, then we will see a tightening in those countries of protection of access.
And if God forbid, there is an outflow, then we will need that solidarity and that protection in the neighbouring countries because they will be the first one, the first one hit.
So, you know, these are all complex species and all of them require attention first and foremost inside Afghanistan.
I've solemnly promised the governments of Iran and Pakistan that I will continue to advocate for more resources to be put inside to avoid this big outflow.
But we need to think of all scenarios in this very fluid situation.
Thank you very much to both our speakers.
Just a very, very final of the proscriptive to remind everybody that there is a strict embargo on this press conference and the content of the launch until tomorrow morning until the 11th of January, 6:00 AM Geneva time, 5 GMT and midnight in New York.
And also to remind you all that tomorrow morning, Geneva time, at 11:30 AM, USG Griffiths and **** Commissioner Grandy will present, will launch officially these two humanitarian appeals.
They will speak at this event at 11:30 that will be also streamed on UN Web TV.
And together with them, we will also hear from Asia Nansen Award winner Salima Riemann, a doctor from Afghanistan.
Thank you all very much for having been at this press conference.
Thank you to our speakers.
Have a nice afternoon.
Thank you.