Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given in collaboration with the United Nations about granting an exemption from sanctions for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan; and how they and international partners will monitor the effectiveness of any agreed resolutions.

On 22 December, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2615 which added a humanitarian exception to the sanctions regime established by resolution 1988 (2011), enabling the provision of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. This resolution will help save lives, by ensuring that the 1988 sanctions regime poses no obstacle to the provision of humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan. This directly responds to what the humanitarian community told us they needed. The UK government is now working as a priority to update the relevant UK legislation to implement this exception. The UN will report on the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan while the exception is in place.