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AUSTRALIA: The denial of the right to asylum and inhumane

May 28, 2001

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION <br>
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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM <br>
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29 May 2001 <br>
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UA-17-2001: Twenty-two detainees arrested and hunger strike <br>
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AUSTRALIA: The denial of the right to asylum and inhumane treatment <br>
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On May 26, 2001, at 4:00 a.m., 170 police officers and guards, armed with guns, batons and shields, made a surprise raid on the Port Hedland migrant detention centre. During the raid, men, women and children were handcuffed, and women were hit with batons to force them to sit or kneel on the ground. <br>
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Twenty-one males and one woman, including one child and two teenagers, were arrested and transported to the South Hedland police holding cells during the raid. The 22 detainees are charged with threatening and violent behaviour towards Commonwealth employees during the recent riot at the centre. According to the media on the morning of May 29, 2001, one child was sent back to the detention centre, but the 21 detainees, including two teenagers, are still in jail. <br>
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Meanwhile, 35 Palestinian adults and seven children have begun a hunger strike in protest against the raid. They are demanding the release of the 21 detainees who were taken to prison or, if this demand is not met, to take all of the 200 remaining people in the detention centre to the prison. <br>
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Fr. Wally McNamara who visited the centre says some inmates believe that those arrested and charged with threatening and violent behaviour were unfairly selected. Consequently, the situation is getting worse and the atmosphere is getting increasingly tense. <br>
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BACKGROUND <br>
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The detainees had been demanding an increase in their rate of pay from $10 to $20 for a minimum of eight hours of work, a proper roster of available work and paid overtime after eight hours. A strike that took place on May 11, 2001, by detainees who primarily work in the kitchen had severely disrupted the detention centre. \&quot;Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock treats the detainees as if they have no rights whatsoever. He has denied them the right to strike and now wants to deny them the right to protest,\&quot; said Ian Rintoul, a spokesperson for the Refugee Acton Collective in Sydney. <br>
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\&quot;The government is facing electoral defeat and is under mounting pressure over its policy of mandatory detention. The police raids are a desperate attempt to cover up what is really happening inside the detention centres,\&quot; said Rintoul. \&quot;The charges against the detainees are a sham and should be dropped. Asylum seekers are not criminals. As long as they are denied their rights, protests will continue inside and outside the detention centres,\&quot; he said. <br>
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SUGGESTED ACTION <br>
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Please write protest letters to the prime minister, the minister for immigration and multicultural affairs and the attorney general and send copies to the committee secretary of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, the shadow minister for immigration and president of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to express your concern about this incident and to urge them to release all arrested detainees immediately. <br>
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SAMPLE LETTER <br>
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Dear <br>
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I was deeply concerned to hear that the state and federal police of Australia, armed with guns, batons and shields, arrested 22 asylum seekers and more than 40 detainees at the centre, including seven children, not arrested in a military-style raid are now on a protest hunger strike. <br>
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I think that the 22 detainees were arbitrarily selected and, despite the fact that asylum seekers are not criminals, the military-style raid with guns, batons and shields was inhumane and improper. Even though they are asylum seekers, they also have the same rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly as those who live outside of the detention centre. <br>
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I urge you to release all arrested detainees immediately and to apologise to them for your inhumane treatment during the raid. I hope you will also allow them to discuss all issues surrounding their lives in detention as well as these recent arrests in order to hear their voices. <br>
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I look forward to hearing about your positive action to solve this problem. <br>
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Yours sincerely, <br>
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SEND LETTER TO: <br>
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1. John Howard MP <br>
Prime Minister <br>
House of Representatives <br>
Parliament House <br>
Canberra ACT 2600 <br>
AUSTRALIA <br>
Tel: +61 2 6277 7700 <br>
Fax: +61 2 6273 4100 <br>
SALUTATION: Dear Prime Minister <br>
To send an email you have to go to his homepage: http://www.pm.gov.au/your_feedback/feedback.htm <br>
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2. Philip Ruddock MP <br>
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs <br>
Suite MF 40 <br>
Parliament House <br>
Canberra ACT 2600 <br>
AUSTRALIA <br>
Tel: +61 2 6277 7860 <br>
Fax: +61 2 6273 4144 <br>
E-mail: minister@immi.gov.au <br>
SALUTATION: Dear Minister <br>
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3. Daryl Williams MP <br>
Attorney General <br>
Suite MF 19 <br>
Parliament House <br>
Canberra <br>
Tel: +61 2 6277 7300 <br>
Fax: +61 2 6273 4102 <br>
E-mail: daryl.williams@aph.gov.au <br>
SALUTATION: Dear Minister <br>
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SEND COPIES TO: <br>
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1. Committee Secretary <br>
Joint Standing Committee on Migration <br>
Department of House of Representatives <br>
Parliament House <br>
CANBERRA ACT 2600 <br>
AUSTRALIA <br>
Tel: +61 2 6277 4560 <br>
Fax: + 61 2 6277 8506 <br>
E-mail: JSCM@aph.gov.au <br>
SALUTATION: Dear Minister <br>
<br>
2. Con Sciacca MP <br>
Shadow Minister for Immigration <br>
House of Representatives <br>
Parliament House <br>
Canberra ACT 2600 <br>
Tel: +61 2 6277 4548 <br>
Fax: +61 2 6277 8417 <br>
Email: Con.Sciacca.MP@aph.gov.au <br>
SALUTATION: Dear Minister <br>
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3. Senator Andrew Bartlett <br>
Spokesperson for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs <br>
Australian Democrats <br>
Suite 14B1, 7/421 Brunswick Street, <br>
Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006 <br>
AUSTRALIA <br>
-(Electorate office) Tel: +61 7 3252 7101 / Fax: +61 7 3252 8957 <br>
-(Parliament House office) Tel: +61 2 6277 3406 / FAX: +61 2 6277 3791 <br>
Email: Senator.Bartlett@democrats.org.au <br>
SALUTATION: Dear Senator <br>
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4. Premier Geoff Gallop <br>
Government of Western Australia <br>
24th Floor, 197 St George's Terrace <br>
PERTH WA 6000 <br>
AUSTRALIA <br>
Tel: +61 8 9222 9888 <br>
Fax: +61 8 9322 1213 <br>
Email: wa-government@mpc.wa.gov.au <br>
SALUTATION: Dear Premier <br>
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4. Professor Alice Tay <br>
President of Human Rights &amp; Equal Opportunity Commission <br>
GPO Box 5218 <br>
SYDNEY NSW 1042 <br>
AUSTRALIA <br>
Tel: +61 2 9284 9600 <br>
Fax: +61 2 9284 9611 <br>
Email: paffairs@hreoc.gov.au <br>
SALUTATION: Dear Madam President <br>
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*** Please send a copy of your letter to AHRC Urgent Appeals: <br>
Email: <br>
Fax: +(852) 26986367 <br>
<br>
Please contact the Urgent Appeals coordinator if you require more information or wish to report human rights violations. <br>
=========================================================== <br>
AHRC Urgent Appeals Programme <br>
Asian Human Rights Commission <br>
Unit D, 7th Floor, Mongkok Commercial Centre, <br>
16 - 16B Argyle Street, Kowloon, HONGKONG <br>
Tel: +(852) - 2698-6339 <br>
Fax: +(852) - 2698-6367 <br>
E-mail: ua@ahrchk.org <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
*** Please send a copy of your letter to AHRC Urgent Appeals: <br>
Email: <br>
Fax: +(852) - 26986367 <br>
<br>
Please contact the Urgent Appeals coordinator if you require more <br>
information or wish to report human rights violations. <br>
=========================================================== <br>
AHRC Urgent Appeals Programme <br>
Asian Human Rights Commission <br>
Unit D, 7th Floor, Mongkok Commercial Centre, <br>
16 - 16B Argyle Street, Kowloon, HONGKONG <br>
Tel: +(852) - 2698-6339 <br>
Fax: +(852) - 2698-6367 <br>
E-mail: ua@ahrchk.org <br>
<br>
Please contact the AHRC Urgent Appeals Coordinator if you require <br>
further information or to make requests for further appeals. <br>
<br>

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-17-2001
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.