Sign RISE online petition against the Malaysian Solution

The refugee advocacy group RISE has created an online petition for people to sign against the Malaysian solution. Sign the petition here

Below is the text of the petition:

TO THE HONORABLE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

This petition is from Australian citizens and residents.

We draw the attention of the House to the Australian and Malaysian Refugee Trade:

We as citizens and residents of this country urge the Australian Labor government not to turn back Australian asylum seekers and refugees from Australia to Malaysia.

We should not push back asylum seekers and refugees from Australia to Malaysia, a country that has not signed the UN Refugee Convention. Furthermore, Malaysia has a poor track record [1, 2, 3] of protection, safety, and humanitarian assistance for refugees and asylum seekers. Australia needs to have an understanding of the plight of refugees worldwide and treat people with respect.

As a member of the international community and as a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, Australia has certain ethical and legal obligations towards asylum seekers and refugees. We urge the Australian Government to respect these obligations and immediately cease moving refugees and asylum seekers to Malaysia.

We urgently ask the House of Representatives and the Australian Government to show compassion for the lives of the asylum seekers and to assess their genuine asylum claims in Australia rather than transferring our obligations onto other countries.

[1] According to the Malaysian Bar Council, Malaysia is already home to almost 100,000 asylum seekers and refugees registered by UNHCR. They exist in a shadow society in which they have no legal rights and even less protection and security. No material or financial help for housing, jobs, education or health care is given to them by the Malaysian government. http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/press_statements/asylum_seekers_and_refug...

[2] According to a statement in Malaysian parliament by former home minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar in Parliament that there were 2,571 detainee deaths in prisons, rehabilitation centres and immigration centres between 1999 and 2008. http://www.lawyersforliberty.org/2011/05/malaysia-australia-refugee-deal...

[3] According to a report by Amnesty International in 2010: "Refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia are subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention in appalling conditions, caning, extortion, human trafficking and deportation back to the persecution that they fled."
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/refugees-malaysia-arre...

Confirmation via email important.

PRINCIPAL PETITIONER
Name: RISE Refugees Survivors and Ex-detainees
247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Email:admin@riserefugee.org / Telephone: (03) 9639 8623 Fax:(03)9650 3689