[Greens-Media] Close the camps of cruelty: Greens

[Schultz-Byard, Noah (Sen S. Hanson-Young)]

MEDIA RELEASE



Friday, 12 July 2013



Close the camps of cruelty: Greens



The UNHCR's scathing report on the Manus Island detention centre shows that the government's offshore camps still don't meet international protection standards for the treatment of refugees, the Australian Greens have said.



"Australia's camps of cruelty need to be shut down," the Greens immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.



"The UNHCR has said that these camps are inadequate and Australia is failing its international legal obligations.



"These island prisons are factories of mental illness and the government's indefinite detention of refugees is creating a damaged generation.



"These are Australian run, Australian funded detention centres. The media and the Australian Human Rights Commission should be given full and frank access to report on the camps' conditions, but the government has barred them.



"Billions of tax payer dollars are being wasted on these island prisons which haven't saved lives at sea.



"If people feel as though a dangerous boat journey is their only option when fleeing war and persecution, that is a humanitarian crisis and we should respond by offering people safer ways to reach protection.



"An emergency intake of up to 10,000 people from Indonesia and the surrounding region would give refugees a lifeline to Australia and a much safer option than a journey on a leaky boat.



"The Greens will continue to stand up for vulnerable people in our region. These camps of cruelty must be shut down."



Media Contact: Noah Schultz-Byard 0427 604 760


NOAH SCHULTZ-BYARD  MEDIA ADVISER

OFFICE OF SENATOR SARAH HANSON-YOUNG
AUSTRALIAN GREENS SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA
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