good news?

by the end of today, no children will be subject to mandatory immigration detention by the australian government. in light of the ongoing plight of detained asylum seekers, this is good news in the same way as "i'm going to kick your kidneys instead of your face" is good news. the recent case of peter qasim highlights the australian government's illegal regime of the detention of asylum seekers.

in 1997, peter qasim fled persecution and torture in kashmir. he arrived without identification in australia in 1998 and was detained. it wasn't until this month, after 6 years and ten months that he was finally granted a visa by ministerial fiat, presumably in response to media agitation.

under the international refugee convention of 1951, to which australia is a signatory, "a refugee seeking protection from persecution shall not be penalised for entering a country without valid documentation." in the australian legal system, six years is a typical sentence for serious crimes such as bank robbery or sexual assault. a high court decision last year means that australian law now authorises the indefinite detention of people who agree to leave australia but find it impossible. that is, a life sentence.

not only the circumstances under which refugees are detained prison-like, in some cases thay have been imprisoned. a 2002 human rights and equal opportunity commission report "found that Australia had breached its international human rights obligations by transferring six asylum-seekers from immigration detention to prisons, where they were arbitrarily detained without charge alongside convicted felons." in the same year, five asylum seekers were confined in dim or dark rooms at the port headland detention centre for days. detainees have no access to legal representation or an appeals process.

while it is great news that children will no longer be subject to mandatory detention, it is but a small step towards the end of a regime that is needlessly cruel and a violation of international law.

sources: 1 2 3