Published 19:47 IST, September 15th 2019
Taliban lifts ban on the Red Cross, promises humanitarian aid
Taliban revoked the months-long ban on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan on Sunday, promising humanitarian aid to staff workers
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Taliban has revoked the months-long ban on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan on Sunday, following talks with ICRC in Doha. According to reports, the Taliban has given a guarantee of security for its staff workers who are doing humanitarian work in their areas. They have agreed to new promises of humanitarian aid. As per reports, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that, "The Islamic Emirate restores the former security guarantees to ICRC in Afghanistan and instructs all mujahideen to pave the way for ICRC activities and be mindful of security to this committee’s workers and equipment."
Ban on Red Cross
The Taliban had earlier temporarily imposed a ban on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in April this year. The Taliban had stated that the organizations were carrying out suspicious activities during vaccination campaigns. They had further alleged that the organizations are not sticking to their declared missions. Even though the ban on ICRC has been revoked, the Taliban did not make any announcement on lifting the ban on WHO.
Revoking the ban
As the ban was revoked on September 15, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation in Afghanistan, Schaerer Juan-Pedro stated that the organization engages with bilateral and confidential relationships with all the parties. Further, human rights activist Linda Hemby also tweeted about the revoking of the ban.
As a neutral and independent humanitarian organization, we engage in bilateral and confidential dialogue with all the parties to the conflict in to order to address humanitarian needs within the scope and in line with our mandate; #Afghanistan @ICRC_af, https://t.co/PKK0Omxq1C
— Schaerer Juan-Pedro (@JPSchaererICRC) September 15, 2019
#Afghanistan Taliban rescind ban on @ICRChttps://t.co/tlbIzZT5Nd @AFP
— Linda Hemby (@LindaHemby) September 15, 2019
About Red Cross
According to reports, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian institution. The Geneva Convention of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005 have given the organization a mandate to protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts. The victims include war wounded, prisoners, refugees, civilians, and other non-combatants.
17:35 IST, September 15th 2019