JRS Australia calls for a fairer system of asylum
19/6/08
Jesuit Refugee Service Australia director, Fr David Holdcroft, has called on the Federal Government to change a “ludicrous” system which prevents asylum seekers from appealing to the minister until every stage of the assessment process has failed. According to Fr Holdcroft a better outcome can be achieved by extending the legal definition of refugee to encompass the full range of international human rights obligations to which Australia is party, a JRS media release states. JRS Australia works with asylum seekers in the community, many of whom are denied the right to work. “These people are placed in the ludicrous situation of expecting to fail every stage of refugee assessment before they can appeal directly to the minister. At this stage they often cannot work as a condition of their visa and have to rely completely on the kindness of others to survive,” Fr David Holdcroft said.
See: http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=7733; http://www.jrs.org.au/
Tags: Australia, Refugees & Migrants