Tim Mellor: Where will the children brought here from Nauru end up?
Children on Nauru is a breach of Australia’s obligations under binding international conventions, writes Tim Mellor — but there is a greater issue to address once they are in Australia.
DESPITE Tony Abbott’s ringing endorsement of Nauru as a “very pleasant island”, it is with a sense of relief that we see the recent moves being made to remove children from that situation.
This is something which the legal and medical professions have been agitating for. There are compelling reasons, both medical and legal, all humanitarian, which drive concerns.
The tragic circumstances of people dying at sea in their attempts to reach Australia certainly created a situation that simply had to be addressed.
The system of offshore processing and detention, and actions taken under Operation Sovereign Borders, appear to have been effective in that regard. The real issue, however, is that we can’t ignore the need to deal with the consequences in a humanitarian way.
The most recent statistics indicate there are about 1270 people detained on this basis on Nauru or in Papua New Guinea. There are 107 families on Nauru, including 52 with young children. There are 15 family units split between Australia and offshore processing locations.
It is important to understand more than 80 per cent of these people have been carefully and rigorously assessed and have been confirmed as genuine refugees. They are not opportunist, well-resourced people simply looking to change to a more comfortable location.
They are people escaping genuine danger and persecution. Others remain in the process of assessment.
The position of children in these conditions raises particular concerns. This presents a breach of Australia’s obligations under binding international conventions, both as to the rights of children and as to the treatment of refugees.
These create clear legal obligations. The need to comply with those obligations is not only a matter of concern for those refugees.
As well as being an expression of a commitment to basic human decency, our compliance with international conventions grants an expectation that any Australian who finds themselves in a similar unfortunate situation overseas will be treated humanely.
The fundamental precept “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” underpins these legal obligations.
While we welcome the transfer of children, there is a greater issue to address. Where will these people ultimately be resettled? The Government has been clear those who arrive illegally by boat will not be able to resettle permanently.
With respect to offshore processing and detention, a key legal and human-rights concern is people who have committed no crime are subject to an inflexible regime of indefinite detention. This must be addressed.
Tim Mellor is the Law Society of SA President