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Refugees arrival in Australia welcomed

7 February 2008, 01:13PM

We welcome to Australia the remaining Sri Lankan refugees from the Nauru detention centre. Closing the detention centre is a significant step towards dismantling the Pacific Solution, which we have campaigned for since 2001.

We were the first NGO to visit the Nauru centre in late 2001. At that time we expressed our concerns about the impact detention would have on the health and wellbeing of asylum seekers, and about the processing system which proved to be deeply flawed.

Australia is a signatory to the international Refugee Convention and the decision to close the detention centre reaffirms the Australian Government's commitment to human rights principles, and shows the world that we are once again living up to our international obligations.

It should be a clear signal to other governments considering off shore detention and processing that it is costly, a breach of human rights principles, and harmful to those who are detained.

We are hopeful the Australian Government will end this type of Refugee Status Determination and reverse legislation which excises some islands from the Migration Act.

Comments

Comments are submitted by members of the public and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Amnesty International Australia. If you find a comment objectionable please contact the web editor.

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Austrailia Travel
16 February 2008, 04:49AM Notify the web editor

I’m totally against offshore detention wherever in the world - it’s proven to be a disasterous policy.

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