Australia, Human Rights, Refugees and Asylum Seekers
A comment on the current human rights issues faced by Australia in the processing of refugees and asylum seekers
A comment on the current human rights issues faced by Australia in the processing of refugees and asylum seekers
Explore a speech delivered by the former President of the Human Rights Commission, Professor Gillian Triggs, to the Refugee Advice and Casework Service.
Speech delivered to the United Nations Association of Australia (WA Division)
The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published.
The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published.
The Australian Human Rights Commission makes this submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration in its inquiry into ‘review processes associated with visa cancellations made on criminal grounds’.
1. Introduction The Commission makes this submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee (the Committee) in relation to the Migration Legislation Amendment (Regional Processing Cohort) Bill 2019 (Cth) (the Bill) introduced by the Australian Government. The...
The Australian Human Rights Commission makes this submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee in its inquiry into the incident at the Manus Island Detention Centre (MIDC) from 16 February to 18 February 2014.
The concerns outlined in this submission draw on the Commission’s work inspecting Australia’s immigration detention facilities. The Commission has conducted such inspections since the mid-1990s.
The Commission considers that the broad application of restrictive measures such as those proposed in the Bill may lead to unreasonable limitations on human rights in some circumstances. In particular, the proposed power for the Minister to declare items prohibited in immigration detention facilities may lead to restrictions on the possession of items that do not present a significant risk to safety and security.
Transferring asylum seekers to third countries does not release Australia from its obligations under international human rights law. The Commission considers that the removal of the medical transfer provisions by this Bill would be inconsistent with Australia’s international human rights obligations, specifically the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow 23 September 2019 Senator Amanda Stoker Chair Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 By email: legcon.sen@aph.gov.au Dear Chair Migration Amendment (Repairing Medical Transfers) Bill 2019 I...