The Afghan ambassador to Australia has called for more global efforts to help his people living under the Taliban regime, through aid, scholarships and refugee visas. "The Taliban have never changed. The group has re-enacted its draconian policies from the 1990s," Ambassador Wahidullah Waissi told the National Press Club on Friday. "Arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, collective punishment, media crackdown, extra-judicial killings and torture... remain normal practices under this militant group." Since the Taliban re-emerged two years ago, it has also erased women from public life, banning them from schools and universities. There are 28 million people in Afghanistan who need urgent humanitarian assistance, including more than three million children under the age of five who are malnourished and hundreds of thousands still stranded wanting to escape. There are 40 Afghan diplomatic missions worldwide that continue to operate without legitimising Taliban rule with a 100,000 strong community in Australia alone. "I call upon Australia and the global community to stand alongside with us," he said. He said governments around the world should explicitly reject the Taliban regime and support refugee resettlement. The Australian government has allocated 26,500 dedicated visa places for Afghans under the offshore humanitarian program for the next three years. But Afghan-Australian advocates have criticised the significant delays in processing family reunification and temporary protection applications. Mr Waissi also urged Australian universities to play their part in empowering women and girls who have been banned from learning. "I call on each Australian university to allocate at least three scholarships specifically for Afghan girls enabling them to pursue their education." Human Rights Watch on Friday also lobbied for a more effective response from Australia since it was one of the occupying powers alongside the US after the September 11 attacks. "The government needs to cut the red tape and prioritise processing humanitarian visas for people desperate to flee." "It also should be ready to increase the overall allocation of humanitarian visas for Afghan nationals." Australian Associated Press
