By Andrea Callaghan Re: Remove Australia from the UN Security Council for Human rights abuses. ...... Since the expiration of the UN’s deadline last month, and and the brief attention raised at that time, the case has once again dropped off the Australian media and political map. It is now SO vital that we keep doing what we can to keep this case and the plight of the affected individuals (many now coming into their fifth year of detention) in the public eye, and initiate and engage in active discussions and raise awareness wherever possible. Next week presents us with an opportunity to do exactly that. Next Monday the 31st of March on the ABC’s Q&A program Kenneth Roth International Director of Human Rights Watch joins the panel along with Australia’s newly appointed Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson, Somalian peace and human rights activist Ilwad Elman, Ethics columnist at The Observer Lucy Siegle and Egyptian author and commentator Mona Eltahawy. If ever there was one, this is the Q&A for us. So, this week we are calling on all of you to send your questions to the Q&A panel here: abc.net.au/tv/qanda/ask-question.htm Additionally we want to storm them with tweets during the show, so use the #qanda hashtag and lets tweet our little hearts out! If you are in need of inspiration with your question, we have included our submission below. If you would like your submission published on our website, please leave it as a comment here: removeaustraliafromtheunsc.org/2014/03/27/one-month-in-and-a-unique-opportunity/ and we will include it in our post of everyone’s Q’s. While we may not be hearing about it in Australia, it is important to note that the case HAS continued to draw the ire of the international community, with high profile coverage this month in both Time Magazine and The New York Times, and at the Human Rights Council 25th Session in Geneva where the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay spoke to condemn Australia’s asylum seeker policies in the same breath as countries with serious human rights abuse records such as Ukraine, Syria, North Korea and Sri Lanka. In The New York Times article* from Professor Ben Saul, the representative of the majority of the individuals in this case, Saul calls for sustained international pressure on the Australian Government. As it currently stands, avenues for positive change on Asylum Seeker policy and Human Rights within Australia are few if not none, but Australia’s current position on the Security Council provides a potential bargaining chip. This case also has the potential to bring the entire practice of indefinite detention, both onshore and off to its knees, as the UN has ordered not only for the release of the refugees, but for effective judicial remedied to be put in place to ensure that cases of indefinite detention cannot occur in the future. We look forward to hearing all of your questions (generally Q&A only air one or two questions per topic, and of course there is the possibility that they air none, but all submitted questions ARE published on their website and are open to discussion from there). Every bit of exposure this case receives works to undermine the government’s attempts to keep these people invisible. In the meantime keep tweeting and sharing the petition, making submissions and shouting to the rooftops! We WILL be heard. *New York Times article form Prof. Ben Saul: nytimes/2014/03/26/opinion/australias-guantanamo-problem.html?_r=1 P.S. If you haven’t yet sent your concerns to the UN direct, you can do so be emailing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at: [email protected] the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at: [email protected] You can also make a submission to the International Criminal Court, stating that Australia is committing crimes against humanity by the Rome Statute’s definition (Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law) here: [email protected] Question to Kenneth Roth - International Director of Human Rights Watch In July last year Australia was found to have committed 143 human rights violations relating to the illegal indefinite detention of 46 refugees who have been in detention for more than four years.In the UN Human Rights Committee’s assessment Australia was found guilty of 46 cases of illegal detention, 46 cases of no effective judicial remedies for illegal detention and 46 cases of inhuman or degrading treatment in detention. As a result of this judgement Australia was given 180 days to act on the UN’s orders to release the refugees under individually appropriate conditions, provide them with rehabilitation and compensation and take steps to prevent similar violations in future. That time period has now passed. What steps are being take to impose sanctions on Australia for these breaches? By Andrea Callaghan
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 05:05:29 +0000
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