Under fire from Amnesty

Sydney
9 June 2002

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Under fire from Amnesty

By Kathleen Carmody

Australia’s policy on asylum seekers and refugees comes under fire in the latest Amnesty International report.

In its State of the World Report 2002, which outlines examples of human rights violations in 152 countries, Amnesty cites the Tampa incident of August last year, when a boatload of asylum seekers was intercepted by the navy and denied the right to claim asylum on mainland Australia, and the Pacific Solution, under which asylum seekers have their claims processed in Pacific islands.

These are seen, it says, as examples of the narrowing of the principle of refugee protection as outlined in the UN Refugee Convention.

Amnesty says the outlook for human rights has changed for the worse since the events of September 11, a crime against humanity that shocked and changed the world. The international climate created by the ‘war on terrorism’ had led to some governments jumping on the anti-terrorism bandwagon and seizing the opportunity to step up repression, undermine human rights protection and stifle political dissent.

China and Zimbabwe are singled out as countries that have excused violent crackdowns on political opponents by labelling them ‘terrorists’.

“Security cannot and must not take precedence over human rights,” says Irene Khan, Amnesty’s secretary-general.