On December 22, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued three general licenses to ensure that humanitarian assistance and other support continues to flow to the Afghan people. The general licenses authorize humanitarian-related transactions and activities that involve the Taliban or the Haqqani Network and official business of the US Government (GL 17), official business of certain international organizations (GL 18), and activities that are ordinarily incident and necessary for certain humanitarian activities by nongovernmental organizations (GL 19). OFAC also underscores that none of its sanctions generally prohibit the movement of funds into and out of Afghanistan or the export or re-export of goods or services to Afghanistan as long as the transactions do not involve sanctioned persons.
At the same time, OFAC updated 3 frequently asked questions (928, 929, and 931) and issued 6 new FAQs (950, 951, 952, 953, 954, and 955) to answer specific questions related to sanctions on the Taliban and the Haqqani Network and clarify the scope of the new GLs. OFAC also issued a Fact Sheet entitled, “Provision of Humanitarian Assistance To Afghanistan and Support for the Afghan People” that provides an overview of all humanitarian-related authorizations and related OFAC-issued FAQs for those interested in providing aid in Afghanistan.
Department of Treasury Press Release | Department of Treasury Recent Actions | Fact Sheet