Tell Kevin Rudd: respect refugees’ rights

22 October 2009, 08:47AM

Risking everything, they flee in the hope of reaching safety. And then, often only kilometres from freedom, their chance for a new life dissolves into despair.

We saw this again last week, when a Sri Lankan boat sank near the Cocos Islands drowning 11 men, including two young boys. Meanwhile, the Oceanic Viking remains at sea, with 78 people still afraid of what will become of them.

By voluntarily signing the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, Australia has signaled to the world its willingness to protect people fleeing from war, abuse and conflict. Now we are sending a dangerous message that the rights of refugees come second to domestic political agendas.

Tell our Prime Minister that it’s time to rise above political point-scoring and uphold fundamental human rights.

You can send your message by using the form on right-hand side of this page.

Personalised emails are always more effective, so rewrite the text and subject line in your own words. You may also like to send your letter by post on:

The Hon. Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

If you receive a response please let us know.

What we want Australia to do

Boat arrivals make up less than four per cent of people who come to Australia seeking asylum, yet they never fail to generate a political and media storm. Our leaders must ensure that in engaging with other countries to manage the flow of asylum seekers that human rights are not dismissed in the name of border security fears. This is particularly true of countries that have not signed the 1951 UN Convention of Refugees and do not offer any meaningful protection of those at risk of persecution.

Australia has an obligation to ensure that all asylum seekers have access to assistance from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), access to a fair and timely process for determining their status through the UNHCR, and freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention – all of which is now at risk as the Sri Lankan asylum seekers are forced to remain in Indonesia.

Your Message

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To
Kevin.Rudd@aph.gov.au

Salutation
Dear Prime Minister,

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I am very concerned about the current debate on asylum seekers and believe that the human rights of asylum seekers who arrive by boat are at risk of being ignored due to unfounded border security fears. I strongly support the recent changes to Australia’s immigration policy, such as the end of children in detention centres and the abolition of the Pacific Solution, changes which received widespread support from the Australian community. As a regional power, Australia needs to continue to take a leadership position to ensure that asylum seekers within our region are treated in line with international human rights obligations. I call on you, and all Australian politicians, to ensure that any bilateral approach to managing asylum seekers upholds human rights standards and that Australia does not abrogate our responsibilities to other countries. I believe that Australia should be working with the Indonesian authorities to ensure that asylum seekers have access to a fair and timely process for determining their status through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). There have been, and continue to be, significant delays in processing asylum seekers in Indonesia. I am concerned that Australia is not doing enough to ensure that Indonesian authorities do not place asylum seekers in conditions, such as through arbitrary arrest or detention, which will prevent their access to assistance from the UNHCR. I believe that an important step in any bilateral engagement, is to encourage the Indonesian Government to sign the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Australia is at risk of facing international shame if our government were to be complicit in the human rights violations of asylum seekers in our region. I trust that you will do all that is within your power to prioritise the human rights of this vulnerable group, and as a matter of priority refrain from using inflammatory and misleading terms such as ‘illegal immigrant’ when referring to asylum seekers.

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