Our politicians encourage us to be welcoming of other cultures and also to celebrate Australia day as embracing a multicultural society. I certainly agree with that. Recently in the news the Nauru Government expelled the Australian chief magistrate from the country leaving no-one to make rulings on the process of asylum seeker claims. Expelling the Australian chief magistrate and other legal representatives from Nauru showed a complete disrespect for the rule of law. This is what happens when we lock up asylum seekers in a foreign country. How could Australia possibly think that the Nauru Government and for that matter other foreign governments would do the right thing? Millions could have been saved if these people were processed on the mainland Australia. Will processing asylum seekers on Nauru stop people fleeing persecution. No. Are asylum seekers criminals. No. Are asylum seekers cue jumpers. No. Are they rich people simply seeking Australia as a place they prefer to live in. No. All of these myths have been peddled by politicians on both sides of the political fence for votes. Sending asylum seekers to Papua New Guniea is also ludicrous as the country (Port Moresby in particular) isnt exactly safe for people fleeing persecution. It is interesting that while our government wants to encourage tolerance and multiculturalism that at the same time a small group of people fleeing persecution are being demonised for political points. No one wants to see people drown at sea, but for goodness sake, that should not negate our ability to have compassion and help. It would be akin to not providing a safe refuge to a Jew fleeing from German gunfire because we do not want to encourage them to get shot. Thing is the Jew would be in extreme danger anyway if they did not take the chance to flee anyway they could. If 90 percent of asylum seekers are found to be genuine, why discourage them from seeking refuge in Australia. Again, we may as well rip up the refugee convention papers Australia signed in the fifties. The refugee convention did not stipulate that asylum seekers were not allowed to arrive by boat. It is not illegal to seek asylum. Our governments (both sides of the political fence) want us to believe it is. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948. Motivated by the experiences of the preceding world wars, the Universal Declaration was the first time that countries agreed on a comprehensive statement of inalienable human rights. Australia played an important role in the development of the Universal Declaration. PART I Article 1 1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions. 2. This article is without prejudice to any international instrument or national legislation which does or may contain provisions of wider application. Article 2 1. Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. 2. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. Article 3 1. No State Party shall expel, return (refouler) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture. Towing boats back, returning asylum seekers to where they came from is ignoring article 3.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 13:44:04 +0000
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