Amnesty International calls for law reform after gay asylum seekers letters
THE Australian branch of global human rights group Amnesty International has聽expressed concern聽at the leaked letters from gay Iranian asylum seekers at聽Manus Island detention centre.
Earlier this week, 聽which depicted suicidal thoughts, experiences of sexual assault and fear of persecution in Papua New Guinea, where Manus Island is located.
The聽gay asylum seekers are due to be resettled in PNG where homosexuality is illegal and can carry a jail term of over a decade.
The letters also explained their decision to flee a country聽where they were persecuted for their sexuality and described聽experiences of聽abuse and bullying on Manus Island聽and in their lives before arriving in Australia by boat.
Amnesty International Australia’s Senthorun Raj said the letters were “enormously troubling but not surprising”.
“It is brutally ironic to send people who seek refuge from homophobic persecution to a place criminalising homosexuality,” he told the Star Observer.
“The fundamental principle of the Refugee Convention is that refugees should not be sent to places where their life or liberty is threatened and yet our offshore detention policies are doing just that.”
Raj also criticised Immigration Minister Scott Morrison’s plans to introduce Temporary Protection Visas.
鈥淸They] do not offer durable protection to refugees. They leave refugees in a precarious position by denying family reunions and requiring that they reapply for protection after an arbitrary time limit,” he said.
鈥淎ustralia needs to abandon its punitive detention, deterrence, and temporary protection policies in order to provide safer, accessible, and durable forms of protection within the Asia Pacific region.
“This does not mean outsourcing our international obligations to third countries like Papua New Guinea or Cambodia.鈥�
My heart bleeds and my eyes cry when I think of the torment and fear that our LGBTI brothers and sisters live with each day. When will we as the ‘lucky ones’ help our overseas LGBTI people? Cos their governments won’t. Can anyone be bothered to look up the email addresses of the embassies, the tourism boards, the governments and send letters, emails, protests? That is one thing I am jealous about the US for; they get organised and they get mobilised. Please. From one Aussie to another: lets help them!!!
This is really rigorous for a human being. Human rights are equal for all person. The gay Iranian asylum seekers are also humans. And no one has the right to do bestial behavior with any person.
So the Tony Abbott Liberal far right-wing Government is now encouraging the jailing of gay asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea (our nearest neighbour)!
This is an outrage!, I am ashamed to be Australian now!
The Guardian newspaper is an excellent news site!
They the Guardian just get the facts from real journalists that gets real information without all the spin doctors and not the typical Murdoch and Fairfax “gossip”, “tabloid” trash and “headline” shit!
Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and Allen Turing are all heroes!