Refugee Rights: Submission to Inquiry into Immigration Detention (Aug 2008)

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Domestic Submissions

Refugee Rights: Submission to Inquiry into Immigration Detention (Aug 2008)

On 29 May 2008, the Joint Standing Committee on Migration announced an inquiry into immigration detention in Australia.
The Centre’s Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration focuses on the need for Australia’s immigration detention regime to ensure the full implementation of Australia’s obligations under international human rights law.
The Centre congratulates the Australian Government on its proposed reforms to Australia’s immigration detention scheme as detailed on 29 July 2008.  These reforms signal a significant and positive departure from the previous government’s immigration detention policies which constituted grave breaches of Australia’s obligations under international human rights law.  However, despite considerable improvements, the proposed immigration detention regime falls short of Australia’s international obligations in a number of respects.  The issues of concern are outlined in this submission.
As Australia celebrates the 60th anniversary of the UDHR, the Government must commit to the full implementation of its international obligations through comprehensive and robust domestic legislation that reflects a human rights approach to immigration detention.  Further, the Centre considers that compliance with human rights standards should not be a matter of policy subject to the discretion of the Minister and departmental officers, but should be enshrined in legislation.

Found in Domestic Submissions, Focus Areas - People in Detention, Law Reform and Policy Work, Our Work, Refugees and Asylum Seekers, Submissions - Refugee Rights

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