Australia To Detain More Afghans And Sri Lankans Refugees

More than 1,800 asylum-seekers have arrived in Australia by boat since the beginning of the year. Most of them are coming from Sri Lanka  and Afghanistan. Last week the Australian government said it would freeze asylum applications for Afghans and Sri Lankans arriving by boat, and that it would reopen the controversial detention center situated in the remote Curtin Air Force base, in the North West of the country.

Today, the United Nations Refugee Agency has urged Australia to look for alternatives to detaining asylum-seekers who pose no health or security risks to the public. The UN Refugee Agency, in a statement released on Monday, also reiterated its firm opposition to the detention of asylum-seekers in general.

“The combination of mandatory detention, suspension of asylum claim and the geographical isolation of detention facilities such as Curtin Air Force Base- all without any effective judicial oversight- is a deeply troubling set of factors. These measures are likely to have a negative impact on the health and well-being of people affected by the latest announcements, particularly those already suffering from torture or trauma before arriving in this country,” said Richard Towle, the United Nations Refugee Agency regional representative.

Australia could face legal action over its decision to suspend processing asylum claims from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Australia’s Labor government argues that Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have become more secure in recent months, and as a result asylum-seekers will be sent back and asylum applications will now be frozen for at least six months. However, human rights and refugee advocates are considering taking the government to court, arguing the recent decision violates Australia’s international obligations.

“We think there is a real risk that it is discriminating against groups of people based on their country of origin. The Australian Human Rights Commission is fearful that it will lead to breaches of Australia’s international human rights obligations. In particular, our obligation under the Refuges Convention, not to treat groups of people differently based on their country of origin, and our obligation not to discriminate,” said Cathy Branson, the Human Rights Commissioner.

The freeze of asylum-seekers applications and their detention has to be put into Australia’s current political context. Immigration is a loaded political issue in Australia, just like it is in the United States and Europe, and the conservative opposition has accused the government of losing control of the country’s borders through more relaxed immigration rules. It is likely that the Labor government decided on the freeze to remove the sensitive issue of illegal immigration ahead of a federal election due to take place later this year. Australia takes in annually more than 10,000 refugees through international humanitarian programs.