Biden to split $7 billion in frozen funds between 9/11 victims and Afghan humanitarian aid

The funds, held in the United States, were frozen following the collapse of the central government in Kabul in August. Half of the remaining assets – $3.5 billion – will be used to provide relief inside the country, where fears of mass starvation have taken hold in the months since the Taliban took power.

The remaining $3.5 billion will be made available to victims of terrorism, who have fought in court for compensation using the frozen funds. Their claims will always be taken to court.

In a call with reporters Friday, senior administration officials called the move “a step in a process that could lead” to the release of those funds for the benefit of the Afghan people, noting that the United States are preparing to place the reserves in a trust that will be “separate and distinct” from ongoing US humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

The families of 9/11 victims have been demanding financial compensation from the Taliban for years and have renewed their efforts after the group took control of the country last year and the subsequent freezing of Afghan assets. The Biden administration has been considering how to proceed for months. Officials said the remaining $3.5 billion in the United States will be “subject to ongoing lawsuits by American victims of terrorism.”

Biden’s decision to split the frozen funds is the subject of intense scrutiny, including from a group representing 9/11 families who argue that all relatives of victims, not just those currently asking compensation, should be allowed to access the frozen money.

“All family members of those killed on 9/11 in the terrorist attacks should be treated equally. Anything that is not fair treatment for and between the 9/11 families with respect to these frozen assets is outrageous,” Brett Eagleson, the son of a 9/11 victim, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, there is an outcry among activists who say allowing any of the frozen assets to go to 9/11 families is a mistake because no Afghan carried out 9/11 and the money belongs to the Afghan people, who played no role in the attack.

US officials have responded to this latest claim by saying they have an obligation to set this money aside while the 9/11 claimants argue their case in court.

The Taliban claimed rights to the funds, which include assets like currency and gold, but the United States refused access after the fall of the democratic Afghan government. The United States has not recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem also criticized the United States for not releasing all funds for Afghanistan.

“The theft of blocked funds from the nation of Afghanistan by the United States of America and its seizure (of these funds) shows the lowest level of humanity…of a country and a nation,” Naeem tweeted.

A “worsening humanitarian crisis” and an economic crisis

The Afghan economy collapsed in the months following the complete withdrawal of its troops by the United States and the fall of the democratic central government. International aid has also been largely halted as countries debate whether to send aid to the Taliban.

Even before the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August, poverty and food insecurity were widespread due to consecutive droughts, economic decline, protracted conflict and the pandemic.

But in the months following the takeover, the crisis quickly worsened. Billions of dollars in foreign development aid dried up, depriving the country of money that had supported the economy, key services and aid workers.

As winter sets in, nearly 23 million people – more than half the population – face extreme levels of hunger, according to the United Nations. At least one million children under the age of 5 are at risk of starvation.

The International Rescue Committee has ranked Afghanistan first on its annual Emergency Watch list of countries whose humanitarian crises are expected to worsen in 2022.

In January, the United States announced $308 million in humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people, along with additional doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. This brought total U.S. assistance to the country to $782 million since October 2021.

Lawmakers have urged the Biden administration to take action to avert economic disaster in Afghanistan, proposing steps that could bring relief. In a December letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, a group of House lawmakers advised the administration to release frozen Afghan funds “to an appropriate United Nations agency for paying teachers’ salaries and providing meals for children in schools, so long as girls can continue to attend.”

In December, the Biden administration announced it was lifting some restrictions on the types of aid aid organizations can provide to Afghanistan, which would support education programs, including paying teachers’ salaries.

Speaking this week, US State Department Special Representative and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Afghanistan Tom West said, “It’s no secret that the country is in the midst of not only a worsening humanitarian crisis, but also an economic crisis.

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking what’s happening in Afghanistan,” West told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview. “It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up. It’s the last thing I think about before going to bed. As you say, there are millions of Afghans who are suffering, and in many ways, they are not suffering because of the decisions they have made, but for the decisions others have made.”

This story has been updated with additional reports.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misrepresented the timing of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. It took place in 2021.

CNN’s Betsy Klein and Anna Coren contributed to this report.