Home > assh > UNITY > Vol. 7 (2007) > Iss. 1
Article Title
Mandatory Detention in Australia
Abstract
Australia’s migration laws impose harsh penalties on asylum seekers who arrive without the necessary visa. They are immediately put into mandatory detention and can remain incarcerated for a number of years. They are not provided with the resources necessary to present their case in the best possible manner. Australia is violating its human rights obligations under the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.1 The Federal Government says that it needs to have strong border protection laws for national security, which is true, but given that Australia does not receive floods of asylum seekers, the laws are inappropriate.