Uncertain future: Australian aid to Afghanistan



Image source: Author's own

Australia’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Afghanistan has increased substantially over the past few years from $82.1 million in 2009–10 to a peak of $198.4 million in 2011–12. Afghanistan was the fourth largest recipient of Australian ODA in 2012–13 (after Indonesia, PNG and the Solomons) with an expected expenditure of about $182.8 million. This includes ODA-eligible expenditure by other government departments, including Immigration and Citizenship ($6.9 million), Defence ($9.2 million) and Attorney-General’s–Australian Federal Police ($17.7 million).

Global asylum trends 2012: how does Australia compare?

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently released its latest report on the number of asylum applications lodged in the 44 industrialised countries that provide statistics to the UNHCR.

The 2012 report, Asylum levels and trends in industrialized countries, recorded the second highest number of applications this decade with 479 300 asylum applications lodged (the highest level was in 2003 when there were 505 000 applications). Afghanistan remained the main country of origin of asylum-seekers in 2012, followed by Syria with a 191 per cent increase in asylum claims.

The High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, noted that both new (Syria) and old (Afghanistan) conflicts were contributing to the rise in claims and that wars were ‘driving more and more people to seek asylum’. However, Guterres also pointed out that the asylum claims lodged in industrialised countries were only a drop in the ocean compared to the levels of displacement experienced closer to the regions of conflict:

In most cases people seeking refuge from conflict choose to remain in countries neighbouring their own in hope of being able to return home (an example is Syria, where the figure of 24, 800 Syrian asylum claims in industrialized countries compares to more than 1,100,000 registered Syrian refugees currently in neighbouring countries). 

Progress towards transition in Afghanistan

Image source: Flickr

The Parliamentary Library has released a new publication—Australia's involvement in Afghanistan: revised facts and figures—which updates previously published material concerning Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan, (see FlagPost entries Australia’s military involvement in Afghanistan—update, 10 June 2011; Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan – frequently asked questions, 15 October 2010; Background Note Australia’s military involvement in Afghanistan since 2001: a chronology, 16 July 2010; and the Afghanistan section of the Anzac Day Kit).

Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan - update

This FlagPost entry updates material previously posted for the Parliamentary debate on Afghanistan (see Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan – frequently asked questions, 15 October 2010). The following information has been compiled to assist Members and Senators prepare condolence motions for Australian Defence Force personnel recently killed in Afghanistan and to highlight some of the issues raised in the media.

Parliamentary Library Vital Issues Seminar—Australia’s role and commitment in Afghanistan

This seminar, held on 20 October 2010, featured distinguished speakers Major General Jim Molan AO DSC and Mr Geoffrey Barker who provided contrasting perspectives on Australia’s continued involvement in Afghanistan. The seminar was chaired by Senator Russell Trood.

Seeking asylum from Afghanistan

What is the situation globally? Afghanistan has been the leading country of origin of refugees for the past three decades with up to 6.4 million of its citizens having sought international protection during peak years. At the end of 2009, there were more than 2.9 million Afghan refugees and one out of four refugees in the world was from Afghanistan. In total there were over 3.6 million people of concern to the UNHCR for Afghanistan at the end of 2009. (See the UNHCR's 2009 Global Trends and Global Report 2009–Afghanistan for more details on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.)

Australia's involvement in Afghanistan - frequently asked questions

On 12 October 2010, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announced that the Parliament of Australia would debate Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister’s media release said ‘she believed it was important that all Australians understood the critical mission in Afghanistan’ and that the debate ‘will provide an opportunity to fully explain the Government's ongoing support for the current International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan’.

The following information has been compiled to assist Members and Senators as they prepare for the debate.