Australia under fire over offshore processing at UN

“At a time when more than 60 million people worldwide have been forced to flee their homes from conflict, persecution and mass human rights violations, Australia should be offering practical, regional solutions to support people who seek asylum, instead of instituting harsh and punitive measures”. Monday’s review in Geneva is also expected to scrutinise Australian policies and performance on indigenous rights, including the over-representation of indigenous people in prisons and land rights.

But Australia was defiant as dozens of countries called on it to wind back or end boat turn-backs and mandatory detention, and grant refugees their full rights.

The same day the report was released, Australia’s handling of asylum seekers also drew fire from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees representative in Indonesia, Thomas Vargas.

“To remove children and their families and other individuals at risk in particular survivors of torture and trauma from immigration detention centres“.

Australian opposition politicians demanded on Monday that the government disclose the extent of destruction caused by riots at an immigration detention centre on the remote Australian outpost of Christmas Island following the death of an asylum seeker.

While in Government, Labor toughed Australia’s policies, but reintroducing offshore processing in the centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

Ms Plibersek declined to say whether Labor would allow children in detention on Nauru to come to Australia.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in June this year stated that the response of Australia to migrant arrivals had “set a poor benchmark for its neighbours in the region”.

“Offshore processing should be about processing”.

Countries not normally celebrated for their human rights records joined the criticism of Australia.

Domestically, asylum is a hot political issue. It’s notable that there was not a single bit of applause for Australia’s refugee and asylum seeker policy.

And I think one of the things the UPR (Universal Periodic Review) showed up was Australian exceptionalism on what is a global human rights issue.

“Australia’s strong border protection measures have played a key role in enabling the government to maintain meaningful and significant humanitarian resettlement and assistance programmes”, he said, citing its offer to resettle 12,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq.

Mandatory immigration detention was “viewed by Australia as vital to ensuring the integrity of our migration and visa programs”, he said. Andrew Goledzinowski, ambassador for people smuggling issues, said more than 1200 migrants had died in attempts to reach Australia by boat, prompting the Australian community to decide it could “no longer tolerate such a level of carnage”.

“The seas around Australia are wider, deeper and more risky than even the Mediterranean”, he said.

“Those are our citizens, those are our people – if we don’t have their back, who else will?”

“Those who criticise (Australia’s) policy positions need to appreciate the reasons (for them)”.

But there were “definitely common themes” of concern, she said.

“We remain concerned about Australia’s protection of the rights of migrants, especially of women and children at offshore facilities”, Turkey’s delegate told the review, according to media reports.

Norway recommends that asylum seekers’ claims are processed in accordance with the United Nations refugee convention.

Another observer, Professor Sarah Joseph of Monash University’s Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, said Australia would find it hard to reject the very specific recommendations of the Council.