Lausanne, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide humanitarian financial aid package of up to $560,000 directly to the Olympic community in Afghanistan.
The assistance will benefit up to 2,000 beneficiaries, which includes national sports team elite athletes and coaches, and national federation officials who are still residing in Afghanistan, with the priority given to women.
The one-off assistance will be also extended to the Afghanistan Paralympic community and non-Olympic-sport national federations. The IOC will further help the beneficiaries over the winter to carry on their sporting activities.
“This follows the help we have offered to the Olympic community in Afghanistan in order to receive humanitarian visas, which led to 300 of them being able to leave the country,” the IOC President Thomas Bach said.
“It is also a result of our talks and our quiet diplomacy efforts with the Taliban. Not only do they accept this help, but they support it. It shows that quiet diplomacy works, and what effect it can have.”
“This humanitarian aid package can only be implemented because of our excellent partnership with UNHCR and the UN High Commissioner, Filippo Grandi,” he added.
Additionally, after consultation with the Taliban, the IOC and the elected office-bearers of the Afghan National Olympic Committee (NOC) will cooperate to consolidate the list of candidates with the respective national federations to ensure a transparent and fair selection process.
The development comes on the back of recent call from the Afghan NOC to support the Afghan Olympic community members that have remained in the country.
Earlier on November 18, the IOC and the Olympic Council of Asia met in Doha with a delegation led by Director of Physical Education and Sports of Afghanistan.
The Afghan authorities confirmed that they would accept any form of humanitarian assistance or financial support that the IOC could provide to their sports community in particular.
The IOC along with the Afghan NOC continue to work together and monitor the requests for humanitarian assistance and the evacuation of Olympic community members who are still in Afghanistan.