UN & ADB Launch $100M Food Security Project In Afghanistan

Penny Wong wrote Thursday that Canberra is pursuing legal avenues with partners over what she described as the ongoing breach of the convention in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. She said Afghans are enduring one of the world’s worst protracted humanitarian crises.

Last year, Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands jointly announced plans to take the Taliban to the International Court of Justice in The Hague over alleged widespread human rights violations. The United Nations and more than 20 countries have expressed support for the move.

The development comes as the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for the Taliban’s leader and the head of its supreme court over alleged human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.

$50m Allocation

Australia’s foreign ministry said it had allocated an additional $50 million to help address the worsening situation in Afghanistan.

In a statement, the ministry said the aid would focus on support for women and girls, food security, health care services and the protection of human dignity. It said Australia would work through UN agencies to ensure the assistance reaches people in need rather than Taliban authorities.

The ministry said Taliban restrictions on women and girls including limits on access to employment, health care, education and public life have had a disproportionate impact.

Since the collapse of the former Afghan government and the Taliban’s return to power, Australia has provided $310 million in assistance, according to the statement.

Australia says the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has been worsened by the Taliban’s failure to provide basic services to the population.

Addressing a gathering of cultural figures affiliated with the Taliban at the presidential palace in Kabul on Thursday, Muttaqi said the conduct of Taliban officials is closely watched by Afghans and the international community.

He warned that “manufacturing news and creating hype” damages the administration and that even a single incorrect news report, post or public remark could create problems for the Taliban system.

Muttaqi added that “speech without action” amounts to lying from a religious perspective and said failure to honour commitments leads to distrust.

He said members of the former Afghan government’s security forces had surrendered before the fall of Kabul based on promises and guarantees given by the Taliban.

In part of his remarks, the foreign minister questioned why some individuals, through their conduct, harm the Taliban administration, the public and people’s livelihoods.

Muttaqi stressed that under Taliban rule, reform should begin at the individual level.

Hannah Neumann wrote on X on Wednesday that accountability for Taliban actions was overdue, adding: “No normalisation with the Taliban!”

The penal code has prompted a wave of domestic and international reactions. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, has urged the Taliban to repeal discriminatory laws and decrees.

Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Scholars has also said the Taliban’s penal code was not drafted in line with Islamic teachings and is “contrary to the Quran and Sunnah”.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice has warned that objections to the group’s laws would be treated as a crime and that critics would be referred to judicial authorities.

The code, signed by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, includes provisions that critics say fail to criminalise the beating of children, recognise slavery, criminalise dancing, define Sunnis as Muslims while labelling others as heretics, and allow the killing of Taliban opponents.

Sher Ali Hamad made the comments at a funeral in Guldara district for a man identified as Ayoub, also known as Zakir. Pakistani authorities have said Ayoub was killed in recent clashes between Pakistani security forces and the Pakistani Taliban in border areas near Kunar.

In his speech, Hamad described the political systems of Central Asian states and Pakistan as “parliamentary and infidel,” and called for the overthrow of those governments to establish Islamic rule. He said he would not rest until “the flag of Islam” was raised in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.

The remarks come despite repeated statements by Taliban authorities that their administration in Afghanistan poses no threat to the region or the wider world and that they are working to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries.

Central Asian governments and Pakistan have repeatedly expressed concern about the presence and activities of militant groups in Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials have said deadly attacks inside Pakistan are planned from Afghan territory, allegations supported by some international assessments but consistently denied by the Taliban.

The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons said Afghans ranked first among countries of origin for asylum seekers last year. About 78.8 percent of Afghan applicants were granted international protection.

After Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 13,200 applications, followed by Haiti with 12,600 and Ukraine with 12,300.

Together, these four countries accounted for more than one-third of all asylum claims lodged in France in 2025, the agency said.

France registered 145,210 applications for international protection by the end of 2025, a decline of about 5.5 percent compared with 2024. The agency said this marked the second consecutive annual drop in asylum applications since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Despite the overall decrease, approval rates rose. About 41 precent of applications were accepted at the initial review stage in 2025, suggesting improved prospects for applicants compared with the previous year.

Including decisions overturned on appeal, nearly 79,000 people were ultimately granted asylum or international protection in France in 2025, the report said.