US obliged to compensate Afghan people: China Daily editorial

Alarmed by the critical humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, 14 UN human rights experts recently called on the United States to unblock $7 billion in foreign assets of Da Afghanistan Bank to enable the unimpeded provision of humanitarian assistance to cover the basic needs of tens of millions of people in the country.

In a statement released on Monday, they said they noted with regret the recent decision by the US administration to renew the blocking of Afghanistan central bank's foreign assets, and its reported intention to use part of it for other purposes within the US.

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Feb 11 putting the assets at the disposal of his administration to be used as compensation for the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks against the US on Sept 11, 2001.

The joint appeal of the UN human rights experts comes at a time when the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is putting at serious risk the lives of more than half of the country's population, particularly women and children.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has described the situation in the country as an "epic humanitarian crisis on the verge of a development catastrophe", and has called on the US to reassess any adopted unilateral measure and lift all obstacles in the provision of the necessary financial and humanitarian aid.

The UN human rights experts estimate that the country has the highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world, with more than 23 million people in need of food assistance, and approximately 95 percent of the population enduring insufficient food consumption.

Of particular concern is the vulnerability of more than 4 million internally displaced people, including people belonging to minorities and more than 3.5 million seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

Not only should the US unconditionally return the assets of the Afghan people that it has illegally frozen, most of which is funds from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for the development of the country, it should also apologize to the Afghan people and compensate them for the damage and suffering it has caused over the 20 years of its military occupation of the country.

After smashing the country and destroying the future of several generations, the US has not only walked away, but intends to take for itself the lifeline that the Afghan people depend on, which fully exposes the brutality and cruelty of the so-called rules-based international order the US is trying to peddle to the rest of the world.