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AUSTRALIA: A refugee crisis - The denial of the right to asylum

August 27, 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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28 August 2001 <br>
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UA-31-2001: 438 asylum-seekers remain on board on hunger strike <br>
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AUSTRALIA: A refugee crisis - The denial of the right to asylum <br>
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The Norwegian freighter, Tampa with 438 asylum-seekers on board, primarily people from Afghanistan, remains just outside of Australia's territorial waters off the coast of Christmas Island about 1,000 miles west of the mainland. The Australian government has refused to allow the freighter carrying these people who were rescued from a sinking Indonesian vessel late on Sunday to land in Australia. The Australian government has insisted that, although Australia is willing to offer humanitarian help, the ship should have taken the people to the closest port, which is in Indonesia. Thus, the Australian government now maintains that the issue is a matter between the Norwegian and Indonesian governments. <br>
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Conditions on board the ship are deteriorating, however. All of the boat people, except pregnant women and 43 children, are on hunger strike. They are adamant that they will not go back to Indonesia. The captain of the Norwegian freighter said that he was forced to bring the asylum-seekers to Christmas Island. They refused to go back to Indonesia, he said, and they are threatening to jump overboard. <br>
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Regarding this refugee crisis, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in Hong Kong is concerned about the conditions on board the ship after most of the asylum-seekers went on hunger strike. With tension rising, some of them might try to commit suicide, or the dangerous situation on the ship could lead to anarchy on the vessel. Therefore, AHRC strongly urges the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to immediately intervene in this crisis and for the Australian government to provide as quickly as possible refugee protection. <br>
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BACKGROUND <br>
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AHRC previously issued an urgent appeal to draw attention to the brutal treatment of asylum-seekers and the terrible conditions in detention centres in Australia. The Australian government, however, has not taken any positive actions to improve their deteriorating international reputation. Even worse, the government intends to reduce significantly the number of legal asylum-seekers it accepts. <br>
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Recently, when demonstrations erupted at the Woomera detention centre in Western Australia, anti-riot officers equipped with tear gas, batons and shields were brought in, resulting in tension between correctional service officers and asylum-seekers that still exists. There is also a report that asylum-seekers at the Curtin detention centre, even children, are on hunger strike. <br>
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Another serious issue is that a number of asylum-seekers in Australia are suffering from mental illness without receiving proper treatment. Some detainees are slashing themselves, bashing their heads against walls and overdosing on prescription drugs. The immigration minister of Australia though has insisted that all of the detainees have the same access to specialist health care as the general population in Australia and that the psychological problems afflicting detainees are the result of trauma experienced before their arrival in Australia. However, according to health workers who have treated these people and the detainees' testimony, most psychiatric problems have developed since they were detained as a result of the isolation, disempowerment and desocialisation that is inherent in lengthy periods of incarceration. <br>
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The following testimony, which was recorded by one of the detainees who has been trained as a medical doctor, can verify why a number of asylum-seekers are suffering from mental illness: <br>
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\&quot;During my time [in detention], I have become very concerned about the psychological effects caused by the long periods of detention that some asylum-seekers, including myself, have experienced. My training as a doctor has allowed me to observe these effects and to act as a point of contact for many of the other detainees to discuss their problems with me. <br>
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The experience of detention leads to a day-by-day increase in stress and tension caused by the environment of the facility where several factors - residential, administrative and judicial - converge to undermine an individual's mental state. Detention for myself and other asylum-seekers has meant the instant loss of liberty for an indeterminate period of time in a prison-like environment and involvement in a time-consuming, legalistic and confusing refugee determination process that is adversarial and confrontational. The handling and treatment of detainees is done in a manner which appears arbitrary, deliberately harsh, culturally insensitive and highly disrespectful in a context where there is a significant lack of emotional and psychological support or care.\&quot; <br>
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SUGGESTED ACTION <br>
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Express your concern and urge the Australian government to resolve this crisis as quickly and as reasonably as possible by writing a letter to: <br>
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SAMPLE LETTER (use this or write your own short message) <br>
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Mr. John Howard <br>
Prime Minister <br>
House of Representatives <br>
Parliament House <br>
Canberra ACT 2600 <br>
AUSTRALIA <br>
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Dear Prime Minister, <br>
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I was shocked to hear that a Norwegian freighter with 438 asylum-seekers on board people who were rescued from a sinking Indonesian vessel late on Sunday - remains just outside of Australia's territorial waters off the coast of Christmas Island and that most of those on board are on hunger strike, demanding to land in Australia. Unfortunately, your government has refused to allow them to land in your country. <br>
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I am quite concerned about conditions on the ship after people on board went on hunger strike. As the tension becomes worse, some of them might try to commit suicide, or the dangerous situation could easily lead to anarchy on the vessel. <br>
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Regarding the recent brutal treatment of asylum-seekers in Australia, although many international and local human rights organisations have urged the Australian government to improve their policy on refugees, I am concerned because your government has refused to heed this advice and has not taken any positive action. This refugee policy will seriously harm your international reputation. <br>
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Even worse, a number of asylum-seekers in Australia are suffering from mental illness due to the terrible conditions in the detention centres, and they cannot get proper medical treatment. These are serious human rights violations. Even though they are asylum-seekers, they also have the same rights to receive medical treatment and to freedom of expression and assembly as citizens in Australia. Whether people are asylum-seekers or citizens, everyone is a human being and has human rights. <br>
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I strongly urge your government to deal with this refugee crisis as quickly as possible and to improve your policy on refugees. Appropriate measures to improve your government’s refugee policy would be to abandon the current policy of mandatory detention and to place limits on detention times. <br>
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Yours sincerely, <br>
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SEND FAXES AND EMAILS 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>
Also you can send your letter to his home page: 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>
EMAIL: minister@immi.gov.au <br>
SALUTATION: Dear Minister <br>
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SEND COPIES TO: <br>
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1. Prof. Dr. Ruud Lubbers <br>
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees <br>
C.P. 2500 <br>
Geneva 2, <br>
SWITZERLAND <br>
TEL: +41 22 739 8111 <br>
EMAIL:webmaster@unhcr.ch <br>
SALUTATION: Dear High Commissioner <br>
PLEASE MARK: ATT - HIGH COMMISSIONER LUBBERS <br>
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2. 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>
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3. 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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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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5. Prof. 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>

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-31-2001
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.