Migrants / Human rights: Official visit to Australia
postponed due to protection concerns
GENEVA (25 September 2015) – The United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Francois Crépeau, today announced
the postponement of his planned official visit to Australia due to the lack of
full cooperation from the Government regarding protection concerns and access
to detention centres.
The human rights expert was originally scheduled to visit
the country -at the invitation of the Australian Government- from 27 September
to 9 October 2015, to gather first-hand information about the situation of
migrants and asylum seekers in the country and in Australian off-shore
detention centres based in neighbouring Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
“In preparing for my visit, it came to my attention that the
2015 Border Force Act, which sanctions detention centre service-providers who
disclose ‘protected information’ with a two-year court sentence, would have an
impact on my visit as it serves to discourage people from fully disclosing
information relevant to my mandate,” Mr. Crépeau explained.
“This threat of reprisals with persons who would want to
cooperate with me on the occasion of this official visit is unacceptable,” he
stressed. “The Act prevents me from fully and freely carrying out my duties
during the visit, as required by the UN guidelines for independent experts
carrying out their country visits.”
The Special Rapporteur requested the Australian Government
to provide a written guarantee that no one meeting with him during his visit
would be at risk of any intimidation or sanctions under the Border Force Act.
“As the Australian Government was not prepared to give the
written assurances required by the official terms of reference* for
fact-finding missions by Special Rapporteurs, it was not possible for me to
carry out the visit in my capacity as a UN independent expert,” he stated.
The terms of reference require, among other things, complete
freedom of inquiry, access to all detention centres, and official assurances
that no one who has been in contact with the Special Rapporteur will for this
reason be subjected to judicial proceedings.
“Since March 2015, I have repeatedly requested that the
Australian Government facilitate my access to its off-shore processing
centres,” Mr. Crépeau said. “I was also extremely disappointed that I was
unable to secure the cooperation needed to visit any off-shore centre, given
the international human rights and humanitarian law concerns regarding them,
plus the Australian Senate Inquiries on the off-shore detention centres in
Nauru and Papua New Guinea, which raised concerns and recommendations
concerning these centres.”
The Special Rapporteur, who had been in discussion with the
Australian Government since January 2015 to organize the country visit,
including consultations in the past weeks, expressed his gratitude to all those
involved in supporting the organization of this mission, in particular the
representatives of civil society organizations.
(*) Read the Terms of reference for fact-finding missions by
special rapporteurs/representatives of the UN Commission on human rights:
www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/torture/rapporteur/docs/terms.doc
ENDS
Mr. François Crépeau (Canada) was appointed Special
Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants in June 2011 by the UN Human Rights
Council, for an initial period of three years. As Special Rapporteur, he is
independent from any government or organization and serves in his individual
capacity. Mr. Crépeau is also Full Professor at the Faculty of Law of McGill
University, in Montréal, where he holds the Hans and Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in
Public International Law and is scientific director of the Centre for Human
Rights and Legal Pluralism. Learn more, log on to:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Migration/SRMigrants/Pages/SRMigrantsIndex.aspx
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address
either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the
world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN
staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any
government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
Read the International Convention for the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CMW.aspx
UN Human Rights, Country Page – Australia:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/ITIndex.aspx
For more information and media requests, please contact:
Elizabeth Wabuge (+41 (0)22 917 9138 / ewabuge@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917
9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
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