Justice: Is Australia's policy of detaining asylum seekers a violation of international law and fundamental justice?

Resources will be posted here that will inform participants on the issues of justice as applied to the Australian asylum seeker / detention situation. All material so posted is the opinion or position of the creators of that material and does not necessarily reflect the position of this blogger, the debate participants, or related institutions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Australia hates asylum seekers Christos Tsiolkas THE MONTHLY: September, 2013 "Our governments and press have demonised boat people for 15 years. Organisations like the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre worry they’re fighting a losing battle. “I received a text from one of my colleagues, and he wrote, I feel like we have failed,” says Kon Karapanagiotidis. “I texted back and wrote, Yeah, so do I.” It is a few days after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced his “PNG solution” to his latest political crisis, whereby no asylum seeker arriving by boat will be settled in Australia. .............. " Read the full article on THE MONTHLY http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2013/september/1377957600/christos-tsiolkas/why-australia-hates-asylum-seekers --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "No Advantage: Inside Australia's Offshore Processing Centres" - Monday 29 April 2013 Next on Four Corners, we go inside Australia's offshore refugee processing centres on Nauru and Manus Island. What you see will shock you. Protests, evidence of self-harm and testimony of suicide attempts. Last year, when two boats sank off the north coast of Australia killing over 90 men, women and children the Federal Government responded by re-opening offshore processing centres, abandoned after the defeat of the Howard Government in 2007. Read the full article on: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2013/04/29/3745276.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 April 2013, 11.25am AEST What if it was our kids? Four Corners and asylum seekers The federal government does not say how it chooses those it sends for offshore processing. It does not explain how it chooses children to go to Manus Island. Australian doctors have told the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) that children should not be there. Regardless, DIAC have sent an anaemic girl with a history of blood transfusions and a boy with anaphylaxis to be indefinitely detained on Manus. Doctors' protests were not responded to – by either the medical service contracted to deliver health services or DIAC. On Manus Island there is a 24 hour delay between calling for medical evacuation by air and a plane arriving. Doctors assess this as too long for children. Despite this, 30 children are currently in the Manus camp and most have been there for longer than four months. Read the full article on THE CONVERSATION http://theconversation.com/what-if-it-was-our-kids-four-corners-and-asylum-seekers-13811 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Australian Human Rights Commission: on asylum seekers, reports, cases Read at: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/asylum-seekers-and-refugees ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency New "excision" law does not relieve Australia of its responsibilities. E-mail Print PDF The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Wednesday reiterated its concerns about the treatment of asylum-seekers arriving by sea to Australia. According to new legislation, all asylum-seekers arriving by boat anywhere in Australia are now subject to transfer to Nauru or Papua New Guinea for processing and will only have their claims for refugee status assessed in Australia if the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship makes a personal decision to allow them to, on the basis of it being in the public interest to do so. Read more at: http://unhcr.org.au/unhcr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=299:new-qexcisionq-law-does-not-relieve-australia-of-its-responsibilities-towards-asylum-seekers-unhcr&catid=35:news-a-media&Itemid=63 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Australian Broadcast Corporation Asylum seeker boat push-backs may breach international laws, UN warns Updated Tue 4 Feb 2014, 6:00pm AEDT An asylum seeker boat sits in a bay at Christmas Island. Photo: UN says reports of asylum seeker boat push-backs from Australia are the first since 2009. (Audience submitted: Mark Trenorden) External Link: ABC statement on asylum seeker claims Related Story: PM Tony Abbott likens anti-people smuggling campaign to 'war' Related Story: Indonesia's government and military united in opposing boat turn-backs Map: Australia The UN refugee agency says it is awaiting an explanation from the Australian Government over reports asylum seeker boats have been forcibly returned to Indonesia. Read more at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-11/un-investigating-reports-australia-sent-asylum-seeker-boats-bac/5195328 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------