Index

Click on subject of interest shown on the right under the heading "labels" to see all relevant posts

To look at letters (and some replies) sent to politicians and newspapers, scroll down the index on the right hand side and select the appropriate heading.

Note the blog allows multiple labelling and all letters to politicians are under "letters to pollies".

If you scroll down and cannot go further, look out for icon "Older Posts". Click on that to continue




13.5.16

Let's put an end to offshore detention centres - new leaflet for market stall May 2016

LET'S PUT AN END TO OFFSHORE DETENTION CENTRES
Why should the Detention Centres on Nauru and Manus be closed ?
  • Indefinite detention causes serious harm to the physical and mental health of detainees. Self-harm and attempted suicide are becoming routine, such is the desperation of many asylum seekers.
  • The majority of Australians now accept that the current policy, supported by the Liberals, Nationals and Labor, is both cruel and inhumane. Australia is the only country in the world to detain children who seek asylum as its first option.
  • It is morally and legally indefensible to detain one group of people indefinitely in order to act as a deterrent to others who might want to seek asylum in Australia.
  • The international community continues to remind our government that it is acting in contravention of our legal obligations under the Refugee Convention.
  • It is NOT illegal to seek asylum. People fleeing wars and persecution have the right, in international law, to seek asylum in a safe country.
  • The current arrangements for offshore detention are costing billions of dollars. Asylum seekers could be processed onshore for a fraction of the cost. The money would be better spent on improving our public health and education systems.
How can we put an end to this cruel and inhumane policy ?
  • Establish regional processing centres in Indonesia and elsewhere under the auspices of the UNHCR, in order to process asylum seekers in a timely manner and give them real hope of resettlement in third countries, including Australia.
  • Increase our humanitarian refugee intake, thereby eliminating the backlog in Indonesia, where most boat journeys start. Giving people hope, and a clear pathway to resettlement will discourage them from taking risky journeys by boat.
  • End the toxic practice of branding asylum seekers as criminals, illegals, terrorists or queue jumpers. The history of immigration and integration in Australia is largely a positive one. We have nothing to fear- and there is no queue to jump!
We can do much better than this. Let us stand together for a more humane, lawful and compassionate asylum policy, and let us demand that the current policy must change. Published by bellingen.rar@gmail.com. Tel 6569 5419 

Posted by at
Labels: , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)