“Following the landmark adoption of the United Nations Security Council resolution to establish a humanitarian carve out across all United Nations sanctions regimes, this announcement from the United States signals a commitment to urgently translate goodwill into action here at home. These authorizations for humanitarian assistance and activities to support basic needs enable organizations like NRC to reach vulnerable people more quickly, safely, and effectively regardless of where they live.
“This announcement comes at a critical time. In 2023 the number of people in need of assistance will reach a staggering record high of 339 million people - one in every 23 on the planet. At the same time, the funding gap between what is required to support people in need, and what is available, continues to grow. Policies like this enable us to use resources more effectively by easing the unintended impacts of sanctions on civilian populations and on our operations. This ultimately means we can save more lives, build better resilience to crises, and work to resolve the underlying drivers of humanitarian needs.
“This new set of licenses and guidance also sends a clear message to the industries we rely on to carry out our work like banking, supply chain, and other private sector entities: facilitating humanitarian assistance is a key foreign policy priority of the U.S. government. We look forward to seeing other governments apply similar exceptions within their own domestic sanctions frameworks to deepen coherence and clarity on a global scale.
“NRC is committed to utilizing these authorizations alongside our robust risk management protocols to get assistance and services into the hands of the those who need it most.”
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
- NRC USA Senior Policy and Advocacy Adviser, Dhabie Brown: dhabie.brown@nrc.no
- NRC global media hotline: media@nrc.no, +47 905 62 329