[QUOTE]The United Nations refugee agency has asked Australia to prove it is not breaching the Refugee Convention with its policy of turning back asylum seeker boats.
Speaking in Jakarta, the UNHCR's regional representative says the Australian Government has not responded to the UN's concerns about the policies.
The request for information was made in January.
UNHCR regional representative James Lynch says people from seven boats that have been returned to Indonesia recently told the UN agency they made it to Australian land or at least its territorial waters.
He says if that is true, Australia's responsibility is to allow them to be processed as asylum seekers.
Mr Lynch says it is significant that thousands of asylum seekers arrived in Australia until late last year but it is not a crisis by world standards.
"We have in Syria 6 million either internally displaced or refugees and they have found themselves in the neighbouring countries," Mr Lynch said.
"A country like Iraq, which has its own internal problems, has been able to accept 250,000 Syrian refugees.
"I think when you sit and listen to what countries in the region like Iraq are dealing with, or Jordan or Lebanon, it's hard to see it [Australia's situation] as a crisis."
Mr Lynch has been attending a two-day meeting about protecting asylum seekers at sea. It attracted delegates from 13 countries, including Australia, and was co-hosted by Indonesia and the United Nations refugee agency.
He says the UNHCR understands Australia wants to stop people-smuggling networks and prevent deaths at sea but it needs to comply with its international obligations.[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-23/un-on-asylum-seekers/5405688[/url]
Not to be picky over such a sensitive matter, but shouldn't they be proving that Australia is breaching the convention, rather than asking Australia to prove that it isn't?
[QUOTE=antonibell;44620377]Not to be picky over such a sensitive matter, but shouldn't they be proving that Australia is breaching the convention, rather than asking Australia to prove that it isn't?[/QUOTE]
I guess they already have the answers and want the Australian Government to answer it anyway to compare and then act
[QUOTE=antonibell;44620377]Not to be picky over such a sensitive matter, but shouldn't they be proving that Australia is breaching the convention, rather than asking Australia to prove that it isn't?[/QUOTE]
Next two lines:
[quote]
Speaking in Jakarta, the UNHCR's regional representative says the Australian Government has not responded to the UN's concerns about the policies.
The request for information was made in January.[/quote]
[QUOTE=antonibell;44620377]Not to be picky over such a sensitive matter, but shouldn't they be proving that Australia is breaching the convention, rather than asking Australia to prove that it isn't?[/QUOTE]
They already know it has been breached.. but, they want the government to show some balls and own up... Hell, any comment at all would be nice.
We haven't heard anything but "We've stopped the boats" in the news intermittently since September; nothing about the 'how'.
No proof, just absolution.
I guess the government is going on these principles:
- The ends justify the means.
- What you don't know, can't hurt you.
Abbott doesn't want to tell anyone anything which is quite concerning.
[editline]23rd April 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE]A spokeswoman for Mr Morrison says the Federal Government will continue to use its current border protection policies because they are clearly working.
She says there have been no successful people-smuggling ventures to Australia in four months and the Government's strong stand is benefiting the region.[/QUOTE]
I wonder why that is?
And what are they going to do about it?
Make the Australian government look bad presumably
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