Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaks during a daily news briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, Aug. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie E)
"We believe that Afghanistan assets that were frozen last year by a number of states belong to the Afghan people and every effort should be made to find ways in which these funds can be used for their benefit," said a UN spokesman.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Assets of Afghanistan that were frozen by other countries belong to the Afghan people and should be used for their benefit, said a UN spokesman on Wednesday.
"We believe that Afghanistan assets that were frozen last year by a number of states belong to the Afghan people and every effort should be made to find ways in which these funds can be used for their benefit," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"It is critical that all such funds need to be handled in a transparent and accountable way, respecting international sanctions and need to ensure no money is used for illicit purposes," he said.
Asked whether the United Nations believes that U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to divert half of the Afghan assets he had frozen for U.S. domestic use is wrong, Dujarric said, "We believe that Afghan assets belong to the Afghan people, and they should be spent in a transparent way that benefits the Afghan people."
Biden in February signed an executive order to free 7 billion U.S. dollars out of more than 9 billion dollars he had frozen and seized after the Taliban took over Afghanistan last year, and split the money between humanitarian aid for Afghanistan and a fund for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. ■