Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
4 Feb 2013
Bishop Christopher Saunders, Chair of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC) is not surprised by the United Nations' scathing report on the Government's treatment of asylum seekers.
Nor does he dispute the United Nations High Commission on Refugees' charge that Australia has breached its international obligations under the United Nations Convention for Refugees, accusing Australia of acting "arbitrarily and unlawfully detaining transferred asylum seekers" off shore on Manus Island and on Nauru.
"It is shameful that a democratic supposedly fair-minded country like ours needs to be reminded by the United Nations, and a host of non-government organisations, that it is failing to meet its humanitarian obligations," Bishop Saunders said this morning.
Speaking from Halls Creek which he is currently visiting as Bishop of the sprawling Diocese of Broome, he said t while the world suffers the challenges of dealing with massive numbers of displaced peoples, the Australian Government remains preoccupied with the matter of border protection while at the same time failing to protect the rights of asylum seekers including children.
The Bishop accused the Australian Government of "carelessly playing a game that ignores the rights and dignity of people, pushing them around the region like some type of lifeless chess pieces."
"In justice no longer can we tolerate this flawed policy of out of sight out of mind," he said. "Sadly, though, it would seem that we prefer various forms of incarceration over a commitment to compassion as we apply the most inappropriate solutions to this massive humanitarian need that sits begging on our doorstep."
The report by the UNHCR to be officially released today condemns the Australian Government's off shore detention centre on Manus Island and describes living arrangements there as "harsh" and conditions for the 34 children held there, including some as young as 7, as of "particular cause for concern."
The report by a thre- member team from UNHCR which visited Manus and Nauru detention centres from 15-17 January this year also harshly criticises Australia for failing to establish any system for processing the refugee claims of asylum-seekers, the first 70 of whom were transferred to PNG more than three months ago.
Among the 20 recommendations from the UN's three member team is a call for an early start to processing of claims for refugee status ''in order to prevent increased levels of psycho-social and physical harm amongst asylum seekers in the detention centre''.
There is also a call for a review of pre-transfer assessments in Australia to ensure that vulnerabilities of individuals who may have suffered torture or trauma are considered when making decisions on who should be detained off shore.
Among other criticisms levelled at Australia the UNHCR is highly critical of the absence of any processing arrangements for the testing of refugee claims at either of Australia's off-shore detention centres.
Although PNG is a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees, it lacks the experience and the expertise to process the refugee claims of the 254 asylum-seekers detained there, the report said and was extremely critical that while PNG is drafting regulations to establish a refugee-status-determination framework, there is as yet no timeline as to when this will be accomplished.
The situation on Nauru is similar and although asylum seekers have been transferred to the Island since September last year there are still no means of processing their claims, effectively ensuring they are held on the island in mandatory detention indefinitely.
"Arbitrary ongoing detention is inconsistent with international human rights law," the UN Report points out and asks that Australia's "current policy and practice of detaining children should be terminated as a matter of priority."
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY
4 Feb 2013
Asylsum seekers protest over conditions in Nauru where they are still being forced to live five to a tent
Nor does he dispute the United Nations High Commission on Refugees' charge that Australia has breached its international obligations under the United Nations Convention for Refugees, accusing Australia of acting "arbitrarily and unlawfully detaining transferred asylum seekers" off shore on Manus Island and on Nauru.
"It is shameful that a democratic supposedly fair-minded country like ours needs to be reminded by the United Nations, and a host of non-government organisations, that it is failing to meet its humanitarian obligations," Bishop Saunders said this morning.
Bishop Christopher Saunders
The Bishop accused the Australian Government of "carelessly playing a game that ignores the rights and dignity of people, pushing them around the region like some type of lifeless chess pieces."
"In justice no longer can we tolerate this flawed policy of out of sight out of mind," he said. "Sadly, though, it would seem that we prefer various forms of incarceration over a commitment to compassion as we apply the most inappropriate solutions to this massive humanitarian need that sits begging on our doorstep."
The report by the UNHCR to be officially released today condemns the Australian Government's off shore detention centre on Manus Island and describes living arrangements there as "harsh" and conditions for the 34 children held there, including some as young as 7, as of "particular cause for concern."
Children on Manus live in temporary dongers with no proper school and no freedoms
Among the 20 recommendations from the UN's three member team is a call for an early start to processing of claims for refugee status ''in order to prevent increased levels of psycho-social and physical harm amongst asylum seekers in the detention centre''.
There is also a call for a review of pre-transfer assessments in Australia to ensure that vulnerabilities of individuals who may have suffered torture or trauma are considered when making decisions on who should be detained off shore.
Behind high fences and razor wire on Manus where asylum seekers including children may be forced to stay for five years or more
Although PNG is a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees, it lacks the experience and the expertise to process the refugee claims of the 254 asylum-seekers detained there, the report said and was extremely critical that while PNG is drafting regulations to establish a refugee-status-determination framework, there is as yet no timeline as to when this will be accomplished.
The situation on Nauru is similar and although asylum seekers have been transferred to the Island since September last year there are still no means of processing their claims, effectively ensuring they are held on the island in mandatory detention indefinitely.
"Arbitrary ongoing detention is inconsistent with international human rights law," the UN Report points out and asks that Australia's "current policy and practice of detaining children should be terminated as a matter of priority."
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY
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