Detention conditions inappropriate and out of step with Government’s stated values
16 December 2009, 10:35AM
The isolated location of Christmas Island makes it impossible to implement a humane immigration policy, and is leading to extreme detention conditions that are inappropriate and out of step with the Government’s stated ‘new detention values’, Amnesty International Australia has said, following a research trip to the remote Australian territory.
“Of particular concern are the significant and disturbing levels of overcrowding within the North West Point Immigration Detention Centre, which has led to the use of tent and demountable accommodation, and the lack of ready access to essential services such as adequate mental health care. This situation is completely unacceptable,” said Dr Graham Thom, Refugee Coordinator for Amnesty International Australia.
“Immigration detention on Christmas Island should be stopped. The island is too remote, and the logistical challenges too great for this policy to be effective or sustainable. The policy of excision is not working. It does not have a deterrent effect on people seeking protection from persecution, and constitutes a fundamental breach of Australia’s international obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention,” said Graham Thom.
“Over 90 percent of asylum seekers that arrive in Australia by boat are found to be refugees and granted permanent protection visas. These people are being housed in what is effectively a high security prison facility, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to Australian taxpayers. There is no reason why asylum seekers should not have their claims processed on the Australian mainland, where appropriate support services can be provided far more easily and at a fraction of the cost to Australian taxpayers,” said Graham Thom.
“The policy of housing asylum seekers on Christmas Island compromises the ability of the Government to implement its own ‘detention values’. It is clear that there is significant goodwill on the part of many people, including Serco and Department of Immigration staff on the island, to try to make the best of the extremely difficult conditions they are facing,” said Graham Thom. “The reality is though, that the remote location of the island makes it impossible to implement a truly humane immigration policy there.”
The international human rights group has also expressed concern with the length of time it is taking for some asylum claims to be processed.
Amnesty International acknowledges that the Government has taken significant steps to speed up processing times for some groups. However, a group of asylum seekers have been in detention on Christmas Island for over six months and small number of people have been there for close to a year.
“The Government has publicly committed to using detention as a last resort, and only while health, security and identity checks are carried out. In practice this promise is not being honoured, as people are being routinely detained on Christmas Island for long periods,” said Graham Thom.
“Many asylum seekers arrive in Australia suffering extreme trauma. Extended periods of detention and uncertainty are hugely detrimental to their mental health. We urge the Government to improve processing times for all asylum seekers, particularly given the overcrowded conditions in the detention facilities,” said Graham Thom.
After inspecting the Construction Camp, where families with children and unaccompanied minors are housed, Amnesty International has found that the facility is blatantly unsuitable for this purpose, due to cramped conditions and lack of free access to appropriate green areas and play amenities.
“Families with young children, unaccompanied minors and women are housed in cramped demountables, behind guarded fences. With the exception of school attendance they must be accompanied by guards at all times when they leave the complex. These conditions would be unacceptable on the Australian mainland. As a matter of priority, these particularly vulnerable groups should immediately be removed from immigration detention on Christmas Island and brought to the mainland where they can be housed appropriately in the community,” said Graham Thom.
Amnesty International also met with representatives from a range of community groups on Christmas Island, many of whom expressed concern over the capacity of the island’s resources and infrastructure to cope with the ballooning population. Christmas Island has a permanent population of 1100, and there are currently over 300 staff and service providers on the island to cater for the needs of asylum seekers.
Amnesty International visited Christmas Island from 7 December to 11 December to inspect immigration detention facilities and get a comprehensive overview of the human rights situation on the island.
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Andrew J S
22 December 2009, 04:01PM
Margaret, a further point, Yes not all refugees come from islamic countries but the vast majority seem to. A lot has been mentioned about the contribution refugees make once granted entry - the figures I have seen would indicate that if you take the skilled migration out of the equation and just look purely at refugees - they are actually a net drain economically rather than a stimulus - at least for the first 10 years. I wonder how many would want to come if they were excluded from tax paid accomodation, healthcare and education? If you were truely fleeing for your life, what is the motivation to escape from indonesia to Australia? The answer has to be to create a better life which is really what i mean by economic refugee. Once you are in safety - you are no longer fleeing for your life. And yes I know indonesia is not a signatory country but that doesn’t give you the right to use it as a base whilst you shop for the country that gives you the most benefits.
Andrew J S
22 December 2009, 03:45PM
Hi Margaret
Thankyou for the more rounded response. You are of course right - there really shounldn’t be any refugees if rights were upheld globally. But since we don’t live in a perfect world there will always be those who claim to be fleeing persecution but in fact are not (economic refugees etc.) as well as those who oppress others causing refugees.
I think your second post comes to the core of my point. I have in affect fled the UK, where a once peacful neighbourhood welcomed migrants with open arms, is now a deeply divided community where shaira law is being promoted. If it can happen in the UK it could happen anywhere. I want to live in a neigbourhood that is free from religeous oppression - where my kids won’t get attacked for eating during rammadan, a place free from churches with missile towers around them - why is this freedom not valid whilst those wishing to bring in their religon/culture no matter how incompatiable with existing society are freely allowed to?
margaret taylor
22 December 2009, 01:54PM
Part II
Once refugees have settled in a country - they are often amongst the most productive in society. They certainly do pay taxes and are obligated to obey the laws of the land they are resident in.
Asylum seekers come from many countries and not just Islamic nations, or where Shariah law is practised.
Amongst the rights Amnesty International has campaigned most consistently on is the right to religious freedom. When religious bigotry or fundamentalism - whether by Christian fundamentalists, Muslim fundamentalists, Hindu fundamentalists etc - contributes to human rights abuses, Amnesty speaks out against it.
And because we accept no government funding you’ll be pleased to know that your tax does not contribute to Amnesty’s work unless you choose to make a donation to our human rights work.
regards
margaret taylor
22 December 2009, 01:53PM
Hello Andrew JS,
I hope to cover off most of your points below:
The best border protection is the strongest adherence to human rights globally. Such adherence would guarantee that refugees weren’t created in the first place.
Yes your right to seek refuge from persecution is protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Refugee Convention. Whether it is respected is another matter - if you are ever forced to flee your country I suggest you contact Amnesty, if it exists in the country you flee too. They might be able to help.
There’s no such thing as an economic refugee. You can only claim asylum for a well-founded fear of persecution on a very limited criteria.
The majority of boat-people attempting to reach Australia’s shores have been found to be refugees. That is they have been running for their lives, not to protect their livestyles.
see next entry for more
margaret taylor
22 December 2009, 12:36PM
Mark,
you might find this link useful - it details AI’s position on people trafficking…
http://www.amnesty.org.au/images/uploads/ref/People_smuggling-March09.pdf
Andrew J S
22 December 2009, 11:51AM
Ara, I will dumb down my response so you can understand it. I am not against human rights at all, I am actually all for equal rights - why is this such a hard concept to grasp?. I believe I should have the right to live freely in a secular society without having someone elses relgion and customs forced upon me at the expense of my own - why do people like you consider this viewpoint biggoted and ignorant? what gives you the right to smuggly claim the moral high ground whilst never actually debating the point which is why are foreigners rights considered above my own? I stand by my point that many campainers and refugees don’t pay tax - obviously not all, and yes i do have a problem with those not making a financial contribution asking high tax payers like me to subsidise their lifestyle choices/issues. By all means go and donate your time in refugee camps etc - don’t use public money to fund it.
Ana
21 December 2009, 03:17PM
Andrew,
If you find human rights uninformative and people who care about them offensive, I find it very odd that you are spending your time on a human rights organisation’s website.
Perhaps talk back radio would be more your thing?
As far as I know that is the only media form racist, bigotted and ignorant enough to even contemplate that the intention of any persecuted human being fleeing from terror, poverty and abuse is to stealthily import sharia law!
PS I have no idea what gave you the impression that human rights campaigners don’t pay tax. Did Allen Jones tell you that?
Andrew J S
21 December 2009, 10:19AM
A facinating and uninformitive response Ana, Australia’s constitution does not have such a bill of rights protecting everything you claim to be ‘Human Rights’ - so your implication that all these articles are somehow law is simply not true. My beef with Margaret, and amnesty for that matter, is that i currently must pay to financially support economic refugees. I pay tax, many human rights campaigners and refugees do not. Why should the law force me to pay for this cause through my tax? should this not be voluntary and by donation of which i have absolutely no problem with? And why can’t I live somewhere free from islam? why must they be forced upon me? I do not want to ever be subject to shaira law yet it is this they intend to import over here by stealth. Amnesty claims to support the right to be free from religious oppression, yet the actions do the oppisite
Ana
20 December 2009, 05:00PM
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
To read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in full follow this link: http://www.universalrights.net/main/declarat.htm
It is also worth noting that to date no links have ever been made between assylum seekers arriving by boat and terrorism. Refugees are often victims of terror in their home countries and are fleeing the same cruelty and injustice so often criticed in the West.
Margaret made no mention of border control at all, she merely asked that refugees be assessed on the mainland.
Ana
20 December 2009, 05:00PM
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 14
Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 25
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
Ana
20 December 2009, 04:58PM
I wonder at what led you, Andrew, to the website of an human rights organisation. It seems that you are not as yet well acquaited human rights, particularly the following;
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Andrew J S
19 December 2009, 12:51AM
Margaret, i find your post quite offensive, what you propose is absolutely no border protection and in fact a tax payer supported people importation scheme -how long would such a policy take to bankrupt Australia given there would be fewer skilled workers in proportion to welfare recipients. In addition to this how long would an open border policy take to completly islamify the country? Is there any country I can flee to to escape the awful abhorrent persecution that follows shaira law? Thank you amnesty for trashing my rights and ensuring there is no where i can flee whilst supporting those who will later persecute me.
Mark
17 December 2009, 01:22PM
A very disappointing report from Amnesty, which ignores political reality in Australia.
Further what policy would Amnesty put forward to do away with the insidious business of people smuggling?
margaret taylor
17 December 2009, 10:12AM
Thanks Amnesty for continuing to expose this on-going obscenity. At this time of year when many of us celebrate Christmas in freedom and plenty those incarcerated on Christmas Island have nothing to celebrate. How appalling that a so-called civilised nation like Australia can act in such a brutally indifferent manner to some of the most vulnerable people on the planet. Immediate access to the Australia mainland for assessment - rather than being hidden from sight and mind - must occur asap. Come on Australia it’s time you gave this Christmas present to all those and particularly children detained on this island
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