In a significant international challenge to their detention, thirty-nine refugees who have been refused visas because of ASIO adverse security findings will lodge a formal complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva, on Monday 29 August.<\/p>\n
The letter asserts that the Australian government has violated the refugee\u2019s human rights by breaching a number of sections of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) \u2013 for details see attachment<\/p>\n
These breaches include that the refugee\u2019s detention is arbitrary and\/or unlawful; that no effective judicial review of detention is available; that the refugees have been subject to inhumane or degrading treatment in detention, and the government has breached family and children\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n
The thirty-nine refugees, including six of the Oceanic Viking Tamils, are all being held in indefinite detention, without any possibility of review of their cases under existing Australian laws. All have been in detention more than a year; the longest has been in detention 26 months.<\/p>\n
“Indefinite detention, without judicial review, is a serious violation of international law,\u201d Professor Ben Saul, of Sydney University Law School, who assisted the preparation of the complaint.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also illegal to detain people without telling them the reasons for their detention. Australia is inflicting serious mental harm on these people, some of whom have been in detention for two and a half years.<\/p>\n
Australia should release them immediately from detention and respect its obligation to protect people from arbitrary, unlawful detention.”<\/p>\n
The Australian government has six months to respond to the complaint.<\/p>\n
The complaint asks the UN Committee to request Australia to release the refugees, or provide reasons for their detention, including reasons for the adverse security assessments. It also asks Australia to provide a fair court process that will enable the refugees to challenge their detention and their security assessment. It also asks for an apology and for compensation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe detention of these refugees is discriminatory and defies natural justice. No court can review the ASIO assessment; the refugees cannot challenge the ASIO finding.<\/p>\n
\u201cASIO is not even required to give reasons for the adverse security findings, so the refugees have no opportunity to respond to any allegations against them. Yet the government gives them and their families, what is effectively a life sentence because of such findings,\u201d said Ian Rintoul, from the Refugee Action Coalition.<\/p>\n
For media comment contact Professor Ben Saul 0424 365 146, or Ian Rintoul mob 0417 275 713<\/p>\n
[Newspaper or radio interviews with one of the refugee\u2019s wives can be arranged by contacting Ian Rintoul]<\/em><\/p>\n Background:<\/strong><\/p>\n Complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n A complaint will be made to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva. There are around 42 people who have received adverse security assessments and remain in detention.<\/p>\n The complaint claims that refugee\u2019s human rights have been violated by Australia under an international treaty that Australia has signed. It argues that: The complaint asks the UN Committee to request Australia to release the refugees from detention, or provide reasons for their detention, including reasons for the security assessments. It also asks Australia to provide a fair court process for to allow them to challenge their detention and their security assessment, and to apologise to the individuals, and compensate them.<\/p>\n When the complaint is submitted to the UN, Australia must respond to it within six months. We then have three months to respond. After that, the UN Committee will decide the case.<\/p>\n The UN Committee\u2019s final decision is not binding like a court, and Australia may choose not to comply with it even if the case succeeds. But an adverse finding by the UN complaint will be a significant international statement of Australia\u2019s mistreatment of these refugees and may to bring international diplomatic pressure on, and criticism of the Australian government<\/p>\n The complaint also asks for \u2018interim measures\u2019 to be issued immediately. This is an order from the UN Committee to release the refugees immediately from detention until the case is finally decided.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a significant international challenge to their detention, thirty-nine refugees who have been refused visas because of ASIO adverse security findings will lodge a formal complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva, on Monday 29 August. The letter asserts that the Australian government has violated the refugee\u2019s human rights by breaching a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311091,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1215","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-press-releases"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/refugeeaction.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/refugeeaction.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/refugeeaction.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refugeeaction.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/311091"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refugeeaction.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/refugeeaction.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/refugeeaction.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refugeeaction.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refugeeaction.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u00b7 Refugee\u2019s initial immigration detention was unlawful because Australia did not assess the need to personally detain individuals when they arrived;
\n\u00b7 Refugee\u2019s detention after the adverse security assessment by ASIO is unlawful because there are no reasonable prospects of removing them to another safe country;
\n\u00b7 Refugees\u2019 detention is unlawful because the reasons and evidence for the adverse security assessments have not been given to them;
\n\u00b7 Refugee\u2019s detention is unlawful because no Australian court can review it;
\n\u00b7 Refugee\u2019s detention is unlawful because Australia did not consider whether any other alternatives were available, such as releasing them into the community;
\n\u00b7 Refugee\u2019s detention is unlawful because the conditions of detention are unsafe and harmful to their mental and physical health;
\n\u00b7 In the case of families being in detention, the complaint also says that Australia has unlawfully interfered in the protection of that refugee\u2019s family\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n