Asylum seekers not forgotten this Christmas

24 December 2009

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will today receive a Christmas message calling for fair and humane asylum seeker policies, from almost fifteen hundred members of the Australian public. The open letter has also been endorsed by twenty-four organisations including A Just Australia, Amnesty International Australia, the Refugee Council of Australia, Labor for Refugees and Act for Peace (National Council of Churches of Australia).

"It's a poignant time to be thinking of humanity for asylum seekers, including those detained on Christmas Island," said acting National Coordinator of A Just Australia, Zhi Yan.

The letter calls for asylum seeker policies that reflect internationally-agreed human rights standards, as well as the value that Australians place on treating people with fairness, integrity, humanity, decency and compassion.

"It's about treating asylum seekers with the same degree of justice and humanity that we'd want for ourselves," said Ms Yan.

"The great majority of asylum seekers who come by boat are proven to be vulnerable refugees with a real need for protection. They've been forced to seek safety in Australia because of a lack of protection in other countries closer to home."

The letter asks for an end to the policies of excision and offshore processing on Christmas Island, an end to the detention of children in immigration detention facilities and greater transparency about the government's offshore activities to intercept asylum seekers.

"Christmas is a time for compassion and understanding," said Ms Yan, "so we see this as an important time to remind Mr Rudd that there's a groundswell of support in the Australian community for continued reform of our asylum seeker policies."


To read the letter, go to: http://www.ajustaustralia.com/resource.php?act=attache&id;=377