Tell Kevin Rudd: respect refugees’ rights

They make up less than four per cent of people who come to Australia seeking asylum, yet never fail to generate an astonishing political and media storm.

So here are some facts: more than 96 per cent of asylum seekers arriving in Australia step off planes, not boats. Furthermore, the vast majority of boat arrivals are typically found to be genuine refugees – those fleeing for their lives and safety, not simply seeking better lives in wealthier nations. Far from being "illegal immigrants" they are exercising the right to seek asylum under international law.

Yet right now our Government is actually considering paying Indonesia, a country which has not signed the UN Convention on Refugees, to swoop in on people desperately seeking refuge in Australia before we’ve even had a chance to hear their claims.

Tell Kevin Rudd it’s time to rise above sinister politics and uphold fundamental human rights.

We're part of Amnesty International because we believe in upholding human rights. Not just when all sides of politics are feeling noble. Not just when the abuses are happening somewhere else. Australia currently takes less that a tenth of one percent of the world’s refugees. Blame, fear-mongering and demonising vulnerable people will never replace our need for informed, compassionate policy that’s grounded in the real world. We must stand up to ask our leaders to rise above the politics of fear.

Asylum seekers, are not, as the Prime Minister wrongly stated, "illegal immigrants". Ensuring the right to seek asylum is the entire reason the Refugee Convention was created in the first place, in the aftermath of Jewish persecution and genocide during World War II.

The reality is, no matter how politically inconvenient no government of Australia can simply wish away the victims of war, abuse and conflict. Nor should any government congratulate itself for offloading some of the world’s most vulnerable and traumatised people onto other countries.

If you don’t want this brand of politics representing you any longer, speak up now.

Thank you for standing up,

Graham Thom
Refugee Coordinator
Amnesty International Australia

Email Kevin Rudd now: http://www.amnesty.org.au/action/action/21941/?&utm_source=Ref_Oct09&utm...