Albanese Government must bring Australians in Syria home
The Human Rights Law Centre is calling on the Albanese Government to repatriate all Australian people still held in detention camps in Syria, after Save the Children were today forced to commence legal action because the Government has failed to act.
Many Australians have remained trapped in the camps for four years, away from their homes and relatives in Australia, despite other countries taking steps to repatriate their nationals from Syria.
The United Nations has reported that young boys in the camps are at risk of being removed from their families and placed in men’s or adult prisons, as 17-year-old Yusuf Zahab was before he died in a Syrian camp. Before his death, he and his family had begged the Australian Government to bring him home.
All Australian people have the right to return to Australia. The rights and protections of citizenship cannot depend on the whims of governments. The Albanese Government’s failure to act earlier has cost lives and put other lives at risk.
Save the Children has commenced legal action to secure the safe repatriation of the remaining women and children in the Federal Court. The case argues the Australian Government is ultimately responsible for their ongoing and unlawful detention.
Josephine Langbien, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said:
“The Australians trapped in Syrian camps have been held for years in dire and dangerous conditions. The Australian Government’s refusal to repatriate them is the only reason they remain there. Every person involved in this case has a right to come home, and they should not have to resort to litigation to force their own government to bring them back.
“The Albanese Government is prolonging the trauma these Australians have endured and the separation from their loved ones at home. The Albanese Government must take responsibility for the safety of its citizens and ensure that no more lives are lost. All of these people, children and adults alike, deserve a future. They must be brought home to their families and communities in Australia.”
Media contact:
Thomas Feng
Media and Communications Manager
0431 285 275
thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au
Michelle Bennett
Engagement Director
0419 100 519
michelle.bennett@hrlc.org.au