Asylum Seekers In Australia

The Australian government has continuously been under the spotlight when it comes to the management of those who are fleeing their countries in search of opportunities and asylum. Regardless of how, when or where they arrive Australia is required under international law to ensure the human rights of those seeking asylum are protected, even if they arrive without a visa. Though if the refugees do arrive without a visa, those persons will be processed in detention camps under the ‘mandatory detention system’ which is in place to discourage unauthorised arrivals. Earlier this year the Chinese government openly expressed their concerns and criticized Australia’s asylum seeker policies in regards to the treatment of asylum seekers, especially children,

The current and previous Australian Governments have risked being responsible for crucial human rights violations when it comes to the ‘screening out’ process which can reject asylum seekers before their cases have even been correctly assessed. This process has returned asylum seekers back to Sri Lanka where they will face an uncertain fate due to violence and discrimination which also questions the legality of the whole process. Many asylum seekers who were ‘screened out’ had lost contact with their loved ones who had eventually relocated by the time they were able to communicate with them via telephone. One asylum seeker had told an inquiry that he had lost contact with his wife and children whilst in the Woomera detention centre as they did not allow the asylum seekers to contact their families. In 2005, during the Howard government, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) found that separately detaining asylum seekers violated international human rights

George Newhouse, a lawyer who represents the asylum seekers, has stated that the asylum seekers are “now on Australian soil, and they'll be dealt with according to Australian law." If this is case then the asylum seekers ought to be allowed legal access whilst being detained. An inquiry that looked into detention of asylum seekers in Australia during the Howard government had mentioned that the Department of Immigration officers tended to fail at checking easily verifiable claims that resulted in prolonged detention when it came to assessing asylum seekers and that an unaccompanied minor who was having his claims assessed whilst being held on Nauru was doubted based purely on body language as a file note had “Telling lies- body language” written on it though his story could have been confirmed by a few phone calls yet the department didn’t follow up on it. The flaws identified provide enough evidence that asylum seekers are religiously being denied justice and that refugee status determination requires a major review