There is mounting evidence today that Sri Lankan asylum seekers intercepted by the Australian navy near Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, are being transported to a dangerous mid-ocean transfer to a Sri Lankan naval vessel amid heavy seas generated by the southwest monsoon. If confirmed, the forced handover of refugees to the very military forces and government whose violence they are fleeing will be a flagrant violation of the most basic provision of 1951 international Refugee Convention, to which Australia is a party. The convention’s core rule, “non-refoulement,” prohibits sending asylum seekers back to their home countries if they face possible persecution.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 03:00:00 +0000
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