Newsletter for 27 November 2018 Rural Australians for Refugee Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

_{Roadside demonstration: Thursday 29}^th _November

_{Next market: Valla Beach, Saturday 1}^st _{December 9.00 am to 1.30 pm}

_{Until When? The forgotten men on Manus Island}

_{Australia says NO to UN migration pact}

_{Roadside demonstration: Thursday 29}^th _November

_{A reminder that we have a roadside demonstration on Thursday in front of the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. Please come and join us if you can to support our campaign to end offshore detention. We are making progress. Since the beginning of the national Kids Off Nauru campaign which started on 20}^th _{September, the number of children on Nauru has reduced from 119 to just 12! This outcome underlines just how important grassroots campaigns are in shifting government policy. We are realistic about how our government and the Opposition operate in this space. We know that they are driven by polling numbers rather than principle and humanity and that they are reluctant to modify their policy stance unless it is clear to them that the Australian people want and demand a more humane and principled approach. So, let’s keep up the pressure until there are no more refugees and asylum seekers languishing without hope on Nauru and Manus island.}

_{We hope to see you on Thursday. Don’t forget to wear covered shoes to combat the ferocious ants!}

_{Next market: Valla Beach, Saturday 1}^st _{December 9.00 am to 1.30 pm}

_{Our final market stall of 2018 is on Saturday at the Valla Beach market. The forecast is for a sunny day, so we can expect to have a busy morning. If you can help out for an hour or two, then please email Mike at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. We’ll be collecting the final signatures on our open letter to the Prime Minister, selling our merchandise and handing out leaflets. Do drop by for a chat if you are visiting the market.}

_{Until When? The forgotten men on Manus Island}

_{Last week, Amnesty International and the Refugee Council of Australia published an important report, which sets out in great detail the reality of the detention regime on Manus island, where more than 600 men remain trapped more than five years since they sought asylum on our shores.} 

_{The report paints a grim picture of life on Manus for the majority of the asylum seekers and refugees. Prolonged and indefinite detention, combined with bleak future prospects, is breaking many of these men. There have been three suicides, and many men have attempted to take their own lives. Yet the Australian Government has cut mental health support in half and ended torture and trauma counselling that was previously a lifeline to many. We surely cannot allow this to continue. As Behrouz Boochani states: “This hell is getting worse every day and we can’t continue like this anymore”.}

_{The report makes recommendations to the Australian government, to the PNG government and to both governments.} 

_{The recommendations to the Australian government are:}

_{End offshore detention immediately, and bring them to Australia, or a safe third country.}

_{While this is being implemented:}

_{Ensure the right to the highest attainable standard of health, including access to adequate mental health care, and where medical treatment is required in Australia, access to timely transfers based on medical needs.}

_{End immigration detention practices (including open forms of detention) and other discriminatory limitations on their rights.}

_{Ensure adequate and appropriate security for those living at all centres.} 

_{The recommendations to both governments are:}

_{Ensure that the principle of non-refoulement is respected in practice and that no individual is forced to return to a country where he is at risk of persecution or other ill-treatment.}

_{Accept and cooperate fully with third countries willing to provide safe settlement of refugees rapidly, including, but not limited to, the government of New Zealand.}

_{Ensure that those who have received negative refugee assessments can seek judicial review of their assessments, with an interpreter, free of charge, and legal representation.}

_{Ensure that independent agencies, including the United Nations, international and national authorities and non-governmental organisations, have full and free access to the centres to monitor the conditions and provide humanitarian assistance where necessary.}

_{Australia says NO to UN migration pact}

_{The Morrison government confirmed last week that it will not sign up to the United Nations migration pact, claiming that it will undermine Australia’s harsh policies to deter asylum seekers. This is in spite of the fact that Australia had considerable input to the wording of the pact, which specifically states that it is non-binding and includes a provision stating that countries retain sovereignty over their migration programmes. The government is not happy that the pact states that migration detention should only be used “as a measure of last resort” and that states should work towards alternatives. The final draft includes a commitment to review legislation and policies to ensure “migrants are not detained arbitrarily, that decisions to detain are based on law, are proportionate, have a legitimate purpose, and are taken on an individual basis, in full compliance with due process and procedural safeguards, and that immigration detention is not promoted as a deterrent or used as a form of cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment to migrants, in accordance with international human rights law.”}

_{The Refugee Council of Australia CEO Paul Power had this to say: “In refusing to sign the compact, Australia will join a small group of governments which are trying to appeal to or appease minority far-right political movements within their countries.”}

_{Will a future Shorten government sign up to the UN migration pact? You can contact Bill Shorten on: 03 9326 1300 or 02 6277 4022, or you can email him at:Bill.Shorten.MP@aph.gov.au. to urge him to commit a future Labor government to signing up to the UN pact.}

_{Check out the index of subjects on our blog  http://bellorar.blogspot.com.au} 

_{It includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians and newspapers.}

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_{Email address bellingen.rar@gmail.com}

_{The National RAR web site is at  www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au} 

_{The National RAR facebook site is at  RAR Facebook}