It is working for Australia and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is not happy.
If you have been following our reports on Australia (here) you know that after decades of boat people arriving on their shores and demanding asylum, the Abbott government is actively turning them back at sea (most are from faraway Muslim countries).
Just a reminder, a legitimate asylum seeker asks for refugee status in the first safe country he or she arrives in. These ‘boat people’ have traveled through many safe countries before embarking on a sea voyage to Australia. They are mostly ECONOMIC MIGRANTS, not legal refugees, who want to live in a first world country. Most are also Muslims (Al-Hijra).
Remember this photo from earlier this year. These are Somalis in Indonesia planning their next move to get to Australia. Indonesia is a safe country, why didn’t they ask for asylum there?
From ABC News Australia:
The United Nations refugee agency has asked Australia to prove it is not breaching the Refugee Convention with its policy of turning back asylum seeker boats.
Speaking in Jakarta, the UNHCR’s regional representative says the Australian Government has not responded to the UN’s concerns about the policies.
The request for information was made in January.
UNHCR regional representative James Lynch says people from seven boats that have been returned to Indonesia recently told the UN agency they made it to Australian land or at least its territorial waters.
He says if that is true, Australia’s responsibility is to allow them to be processed as asylum seekers.
Mr Lynch says it is significant that thousands of asylum seekers arrived in Australia until late last year but it is not a crisis by world standards.
Lynch goes on to compare Australia to the countries immediately surrounding Syria and says those countries have a crisis. Well, they are also Muslim countries and we are told by the UNHCR that Muslims are the world’s inspiration for taking care of the stranger—-remember that in 2009 the UNHCR was sucking up to the promoters of Shariah Law. I’m o.k. with giving those countries the credit as long as they keep the “refugees.”
Waahhhh! Australia not following international law!
Mr Lynch has been attending a two-day meeting about protecting asylum seekers at sea. It attracted delegates from 13 countries, including Australia, and was co-hosted by Indonesia and the United Nations refugee agency.
He says the UNHCR understands Australia wants to stop people-smuggling networks and prevent deaths at sea but it needs to comply with its international obligations.
“There are obligations as a signatory to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 protocol, which say: if you intercept in your territorial waters, you should allow those in need of protection to have access to the asylum system,” he said.
Australian immigration minister: so what else is new, they have always opposed our policy, and besides these aren’t refugees!
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says he disagrees with the UNHCR’s criticism of the Federal Government’s policy.
“They’ve always opposed our turn-back policy,” Mr Morrison told Sky News.
“We’re talking about a secondary movement of [those] who are coming from halfway around the world.
“We’re not talking about people just walking straight across one border.
Ah, if only America had this kind of leadership!
