Australia: Amnesty International Welcomes Court Ruling On Asylum-Seekers
11 September 2001
Amnesty International welcomes today's order by Justice North in the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne that 433
asylum-seekers, now on board the Australian Navy vessel HMAS Manoora, be brought back to Australia, if they still wish
to claim asylum there.
The asylum-seekers, most of whom have reportedly fled Afghanistan, were rescued at sea by the Norwegian MV Tampa around
26 August. They had been making their way to Australia on an Indonesian ship with the intention of seeking asylum, but
the captain of the Norwegian ship, who had entered Australian territorial waters on humanitarian grounds, was prevented
from disembarking them on Christmas Island.
Justice North's ruling was in response to applications for habeas corpus from the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties
and a Melbourne solicitor, which Amnesty International joined as an Intervener. As the result of a mediated agreement,
while the court proceedings continued, the asylum-seekers were transferred from the Tampa to HMAS Manoora which then
proceeded towards Papua New Guinea. There the asylum-seekers were to be divided into two groups, 150 to go to New
Zealand and the rest to the island of Nauru where they would have refugee status determined and those recognized be
considered for resettlement in other countries, including Norway and Sweden. However, the HMAS Manoora has now been
ordered by the Australian Government to go directly to Nauru, taking also more than 200 additional asylum-seekers
transferred from another ship, intercepted by the Australian Navy while making its way to Australia from Indonesia.
Amnesty International is calling for the asylum-seekers to be given access to independent and impartial information and
advice before they leave the Manoora, including the implications of the court order and the different asylum procedures,
the rights and status they will be afforded in whatever countries are willing to accept them.
All the asylum-seekers should have access to competent interpreters and to independent expert legal advice when
preparing their asylum applications and throughout all stages of the asylum procedures. Each application should be
individually examined in a fair and satisfactory procedure, which includes an effective right of appeal to an
independent authority. Amnesty International remains concerned that no asylum-seeker whose application is rejected
should be forcibly returned to a country where they would be at risk of human rights violations.
****************************************************************
You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main text is not altered in any way and both the header
crediting Amnesty International and this footer remain intact. Only the list subscription message may be removed.
****************************************************************