Ensuring safety for people subjected to offshore detention
KEY PROJECT | Migration Justice
People seeking safety in Australia should be treated with dignity and respect, not banished to a detention camp in another country. The Human Rights Law Centre continues to call for an end to this shameful policy.
People seeking safety in Australia should be treated with dignity and respect, not banished to a detention camp in another country. Australia’s long-standing policy of offshore detention has subjected thousands of people who came to Australia for protection to cruelty and harm.
The Human Rights Law Centre continues to call for an end to this shameful policy. While most people held in Australia’s offshore detention camps have now been resettled, the policy of offshore detention lives on and nearly 150 people remain in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. These people have endured years of mistreatment, isolation, deplorable living conditions and medical neglect. We continue to advocate for their right to rebuild their lives in safety.
During the last decade, hundreds of people were evacuated from offshore detention to Australia for medical treatment. They include women sexually assaulted in Nauru, men attacked and seriously injured on Manus and children traumatised by years of indefinite detention.
The Human Rights Law Centre leads a partnership of pro bono partners in legal action in the High Court of Australia to prevent their deportation back to the harm of offshore detention. Through this work, we have prevented the deportation of more than 550 people, including more than 200 children, to offshore detention. Every deportation we prevent is a pivotal moment in the life of a person who has sought safety in Australia. Our cases have meant that hundreds of children have spent their childhoods in Australian schools, parks and homes instead of languishing in a detention camp offshore.
These people have now lived in Australia for years, slowly rebuilding their lives. However, they live with the ongoing threat of being sent back offshore. Our cases continue to prevent this from happening. Working with key sector partners, we also continue to campaign for a safe and permanent home for everyone impacted by offshore detention and for a fair migration system that is free from cruelty.