Amnesty International, the Human Rights Law Centre and Human Rights Watch called on foreign governments to pressure Sri Lanka into releasing a group of 37 refugees who were forcibly deported by Australian authorities.
In a joint press release, the non-governmental organisations also stated the international community should urge Australia to monitor the safety of the deported asylum seekers, stating that it had “violated its obligations under international law.”
Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch, said “Australia’s actions in the Indian Ocean show the yawning gap between its practices and international legal principles... Australia shouldn’t ignore the well-documented and politically motivated torture, rape, and ill-treatment of many men and women detained by Sri Lankan security forces.”
“This case highlights the failures of Australia’s ‘enhanced screening’ procedures for Sri Lankans fleeing persecution by boat,” added Graham Thom, refugee coordinator at Amnesty International Australia. “The flawed procedures, including a handful of questions conducted at sea, offer only minimal opportunity to highlight torture, rape, or other persecution.”
Documents from the Australian Department of Immigration documents which were obtained by the Guardian, revealed asylum seekers from Sri Lanka reportedly constituted 99 percent of applicants subjected to the country's “enhanced screening process”.
Daniel Webb, director of legal advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, also commented on the deportation, saying, “The government’s shoddy assessments at sea fail to ensure that Australia does not return people to real risk of harm... These are life or death decisions. Asking people a couple of questions on a boat in the middle of the ocean just doesn’t cut it.”
See our earlier posts:
Tamil family removed from Perth despite protests (07 Dec 2014)
SL police arrest asylum seekers turned back by Australia (28 Nov 2014)
In a joint press release, the non-governmental organisations also stated the international community should urge Australia to monitor the safety of the deported asylum seekers, stating that it had “violated its obligations under international law.”
Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch, said “Australia’s actions in the Indian Ocean show the yawning gap between its practices and international legal principles... Australia shouldn’t ignore the well-documented and politically motivated torture, rape, and ill-treatment of many men and women detained by Sri Lankan security forces.”
“This case highlights the failures of Australia’s ‘enhanced screening’ procedures for Sri Lankans fleeing persecution by boat,” added Graham Thom, refugee coordinator at Amnesty International Australia. “The flawed procedures, including a handful of questions conducted at sea, offer only minimal opportunity to highlight torture, rape, or other persecution.”
Documents from the Australian Department of Immigration documents which were obtained by the Guardian, revealed asylum seekers from Sri Lanka reportedly constituted 99 percent of applicants subjected to the country's “enhanced screening process”.
Daniel Webb, director of legal advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, also commented on the deportation, saying, “The government’s shoddy assessments at sea fail to ensure that Australia does not return people to real risk of harm... These are life or death decisions. Asking people a couple of questions on a boat in the middle of the ocean just doesn’t cut it.”
See our earlier posts:
Tamil family removed from Perth despite protests (07 Dec 2014)
SL police arrest asylum seekers turned back by Australia (28 Nov 2014)