China has called on the international community to unfreeze Afghanistan’s overseas assets and lift unilateral sanctions to support the country’s economic recovery and humanitarian needs. This appeal follows the United Nations Security Council’s unanimous adoption of Resolution 2763 (December 13, 2024), which extends the mandate of the monitoring team overseeing sanctions against the Taliban.
The resolution highlights the need to address Afghanistan’s economic and humanitarian challenges, rebuild its banking and financial system, and utilize the central bank’s assets to improve the livelihoods of its people.
Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies in Pakistan, said China’s position on Resolution 2763 reinforces its previous stance that terrorism and human rights issues should be addressed separately.
“The underlying message to other nations may be that human rights should not be used as a weapon against target nations,” Gul said.
Afghanistan’s overseas assets remain frozen because of sanctions on the Taliban, and the Taliban regime is demanding access to those funds, he said. However, the United States and its allies have refused and linked it to human rights in Afghanistan.
Stability and peace
“No doubt that over three years of Taliban rule has seen enough stability and peace in Afghanistan that demands unfreezing of Afghanistan’s assets abroad,” he said.
