‘We all need to do more’: US ambassador to UN remarks on Afghan refugees

"The US promises to be generous in resettling Afghans in our country. I am heartened by the pledges we’ve seen from other nations to do the same. We all need to do more" ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

The US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Monday vowed to resettle Afghan nationals in the US and also urged countries sharing its borders with Afghanistan to also offer temporary or permanent refuge to the people fleeing the country. She made the remarks during an emergency meeting at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) convened to discuss the worsening crisis in Afghanistan.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the United Nations speaks during the UN security council meeting on Afghanistan on August 16, 2021 at the United Nations in New York. (AFP)

“All Afghan nationals and international citizens who wish to depart must be allowed to do so safely. The U.S. promises to be generous in resettling Afghans in our country. I am heartened by the pledges we’ve seen from other nations to do the same. We all need to do more,” she said in a tweet.

Following the withdrawal of the US troops, the Taliban rapidly captured all of Afghanistan. After President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country earlier on Sunday, the militants took over the presidential palace in Kabul. Earlier in the day, thousands of Afghan citizens were seen waiting on the Kabul airport, running on the tarmac and risking their lives in a desperate attempt to leave the country.

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield also expressed concerns about the food aid that was not reaching the people who were in need. She also called for the immediate resumption of the delivery of the aid. “We're deeply concerned that aid is not flowing to people in crisis. As per World Food Programme, over 500 tonnes of aid are currently sitting at border crossings taken over by the Taliban. These aid deliveries must resume immediately,” she said during the meeting, news agency ANI reported.

Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed his concerns about human rights violations, especially against women and girls, under the Taliban in Afghanistan. “We are receiving chilling reports of severe restrictions on human rights throughout the country. I am particularly concerned by accounts of mounting human rights violations against the women and girls of Afghanistan,” Reuters quoted the UN chief as saying. “We cannot and must not abandon the people of Afghanistan,” he added.

Earlier on Sunday, Albania and Iran had said that they would provide temporary refuge to people fleeing Afghanistan, according to several news reports. While Albania had conceded to a US-request to take-in Afghan migrants, whose ultimate destination was the US, Iran had set up camps at three villages bordering Afghanistan.