Treasury Issues New General Licenses to Support Education in Afghanistan Following Jacobs and Merkley Call for Action
Rep. Jacobs and Senator Merkley led bicameral letter last week
San Diego, CA - The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued three General Licenses to facilitate the continued flow of humanitarian assistance and other support for the Afghan people. This change followed calls from Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53), Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and others urging the Biden Administration to provide safeguards for NGOs to carry out education programming in Afghanistan.
Last week, Jacobs and Merkley led a bicameral letter signed by 37 members of the House and Senate urging the State Department and Treasury to issue new General Licenses to support education activities led by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Afghanistan. Without the permission granted by these licenses, it is difficult for NGOs to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. General License 19, issued by Treasury on December 22, specifically addresses the concern raised by Jacobs, Merkley and their colleagues.
“I applaud the Biden Administration and Secretary Yellen for issuing new licenses to allow NGO-led efforts to support education in Afghanistan after Senator Merkley and I raised this issue last week. This is an important step forward in protecting education in Afghanistan. The United States must continue to provide these critical safeguards and deliver robust humanitarian support for the Afghan people,” said Congresswoman Jacobs.
The Jacobs/Merkley letter was endorsed by 13 NGOs that provide humanitarian and development assistance abroad, including CARE, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee, Basic Education Coalition, Islamic Relief USA, Norwegian Refugee Council USA, Helping Hand for Relief and Development, InterAction, Global Campaign for Education-US, Global Citizen, Creative Associates International, Inc., Humanity & Inclusion, and UNICEF-USA.
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