Solidarity and Justice Justice Themes Refugees & Asylum Seekers
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There is currently an alarming rate of suicide in Australia's detention facilities. There have been five people suicide in six months, plus more attempted suicides (from A Just Australia's information). Prior to 2000 there had been only one suicide and we have had 29 since (from the Human Rights Alliance). There has been hunger strikes, bean bag bullets, threats, tear gas, rooftop protests...the list goes on. Advocates for asylum seekers are a long way from Christmas Island and information is not flowing in a transparent way. As human beings, we need to act in a just and humanitarian way to our fellow beings. Stand by for more info on campaigns being launched but in the meantime, public pressure is exceptionally valuable. Please take the time to tell Minister Bowen that we will not stand for this. Visit A Just Australia for comprehensive information on the asylum seekers we have lost and how to contact Minister Bowen. *If you are an individual or part of a community who has housing available, you can make a difference by making this available to refugees. A large part of the delay in release for Asylum seekers is due to a housing shortage. Commercial rates will be paid if the availability for refugee families is there. Media releases about Refugees and Asylum seekersThe Uniting Church in Australia has signed onto a statement with other non government organisations, condemning Australia’s inhumane asylum seeker policies. The group calls on the Australian Government and Opposition to abandon policies aimed at punishing groups of asylum seekers as an example to others and to work cooperatively to protect people fleeing persecution. Read the full statement here At the end of Feb 2011, the Immigration Minister introduced Complementary Protection Legislation into the federal parliament. This means faster and more effective processing for people who do not fall under the Refugees convention but are still fleeing life threatening situations – such as honour killings. The Uniting Church Assembly has put out a media release welcoming this move. Download the text of the media release here Following this release, the Uniting Church of Australia President, Rev Alistair Macrae, undertook several radio interviews, and The Australian Online published this report: click here. Other related Media Releases posted on the UnitingJustice website may be downloaded from here. UnitingJustice Statements and ResourcesFollow the menu items at Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the left hand column of the UnitingJustice page here. Refugee and Asylum Seekers: Debunking the MythsView a brief fact sheet on debunking myths here. A list of 18 'debunked myths' compiled by the Edmund Rice Centre for Justice & Community Education and distributed by the Refugee Action Coalition NSW may be viewed and downloaded here. References and further informationClick on the following links for further information. |
Complementary protection legislation (21.55 kB)