New UN High Commissioner For Human Rights Criticises Australia’s Refugee Policy In Inaugural Speech
Tuesday 9 September 2014 @ 11.56 a.m. | Immigration
The incoming United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein of Jordan, has criticised Australia’s asylum seeker policy in his inaugural address to the 27th Session of the Human Rights Council. Mr Al Hussein will be the seventh person and the first Asian, Muslim and Arab to take on the role, succeeding Ms Navi Pillay of South Africa. He has previously served as Jordan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, and was President of the UN Security Council in January 2014.
Concerns About Conflict
Mr Al Hussein used his speech to express his desire to “strengthen the human rights pillar of the United Nations system” and the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights’ (OHCR) “numerous concerns” about threats to human rights concerns. He said:
“I solemnly remind this Council that widespread or systematic attacks on segments of the civilian population because of their ethnic background or religious beliefs constitute a crime against humanity, for which those responsible must be held accountable.”
Mr Al Hussein in particular expressed concerns about the escalation of conflicts in Israel and Palestine, Libya, the Ukraine, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He stated:
“From a human rights perspective, it is clear that the immediate and urgent priority of the international community should be to halt the increasingly conjoined conflicts in Iraq and Syria.”
Migrants and Refugees
Mr Al Hussein noted that the human rights situation of migrants has been an area of particular concern for the OHCR, saying:
“we continue to see countless avoidable deaths of migrants in the course of their journeys; brutal forms of human trafficking; ill-treatment at borders; and prolonged detention in deplorable conditions. Many migrants, including documented migrants, also suffer forced labour or dangerous, exploitative or degrading working conditions, and these violations against migrants are frequently characterised by the victim's inability to gain redress from State officials.”
Australia was one of the countries singled out for critique on this ground.
“I must emphasise that the detention of asylum seekers and migrants should only be applied as a last resort, in exceptional circumstances, for the shortest possible duration and according to procedural safeguards. Australia's policy of off-shore processing for asylum seekers arriving by sea, and its interception and turning back of vessels, is leading to a chain of human rights violations, including arbitrary detention and possible torture following return to home countries.”
The speech also criticised reports of detention of unaccompanied children in the USA, and said the EU needed to do more to prevent people from dying while crossing the Mediterranean. Mr Hussein concluded:
“The treatment of non-nationals must observe the minimum standards set by international law. Human rights are not reserved for citizens only, or for people with visas. They are the inalienable rights of every individual, regardless of his or her location and migration status. A tendency to promote law enforcement and security paradigms at the expense of human rights frameworks dehumanises irregular migrants, enabling a climate of violence against them and further depriving them of the full protection of the law.”
Reaction in Australia
Daniel Webb, of the Human Rights Law Centre, said in a statement that it was “embarrassing” that Australia’s policies were listed in the speech alongside human rights issues occurring in conflict zones, saying
“The speech goes to show the seriousness with which Australia’s flagrant breaches of international law are regarded on the world stage.”
Scott Morrison told The Conversation that:
"I reject the allegations made by the High Commissioner and would be pleased to meet to discuss these matters as I do on a regular basis with the UNHCR.
The most flagrant abuse of human rights I am aware of is the beheading and crucifying of people in Syria and Iraq where Australia is seeking to relieve the humanitarian crisis."
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