December 24, 2024 08:08 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
India refrains from commenting on extradition request for ousted Bengladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina | I don't blame Allu Arjun, ready to withdraw case: Pushpa 2 stampede victim's husband | Indian New Wave Cinema Architect Shyam Benegal dies at age 90 | Cylinder blast at a temple in Karnataka's Hubbali injures nine people | Kuwait PM personally sees off Modi at airport as Indian premier concludes two-day trip | Three pro-Khalistani terrorists, who attacked a police outpost in Gurdaspur, killed in an encounter | Who is Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-American picked by Donald Trump as US AI policy advisor? | Mohali building collapse: Death toll rises to 2, many feared trapped for 17 hours | 4-year-old killed after speeding car driven by a teen hits him in Mumbai | PM Modi attends opening ceremony of Arabian Gulf Cup in Kuwait

UN rights office 'deeply disturbed' over Australia's handling of Sri Lanka asylum seekers

| | Jul 09, 2014, at 07:01 am
New York, July 9 (IBNS) The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday that is "deeply disturbed" that Australian authorities on Sunday returned to Sri Lanka 41 people seeking asylum, apparently without adequate screening of their protection claims and needs.

“This is not something that can or should be done hurriedly, remotely and on high seas,”said  Ravina Shamdasana, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

International law requires that every case be individually examined on its own merits along with procedural safeguards and due process guarantees. Any returns, even from the high seas or in the territorial seas of other States, must be carried out in accordance with international law, under which handing back victims to their persecutor and collective expulsions are strictly prohibited.

“It is unclear whether the Australian Government has been given any assurances that the returnees will not face ill treatment upon their return to Sri Lanka, nor is it clear how the Australian Government plans to monitor their treatment,”  Shamdasani said.

She welcomed the High Court of Australia’s issuance of an interim injunction against the return of another 153 other Sri Lankan asylum seekers, reportedly including 37 children. Intercepted by Australian authorities over a week ago, however, those on the vessel have not been able to make contact with family members or refugee organisations.

A full judicial review in light of Australia’s obligations under international law is required in accordance with various UN Conventions, including the principle of non-refoulement – the prohibition on the forced return of a person to a country where his or her life or freedom would be threatened – the Convention against Torture, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Related Images
Xi Jinping, Putin in Russia Mar 22, 2023, at 08:26 pm