Call to abandon ‘Pacific Solution’

Sydney
9 June 2002

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Call to abandon ‘Pacific Solution’

The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council has joined the bishops in calling for the abandonment of the so-called Pacific Solution.

It describes the policy of intercepting boatloads of asylum seekers and directing them to Pacific islands to have their claims for asylum processed as a “fundamental inversion of values” that places the interests of national security before the protection of the human dignity of asylum seekers and refugees.

“We believe that everyone intercepted in Australian waters or on Australian territory seeking asylum in Australia should have their claims to refugee or humanitarian status determined in Australia rather than being diverted to other countries for processing,” the council says.

Funds should instead be directed towards addressing the root causes of flight, such as poverty, political instability and human rights abuses, the Council recommends.