Pressure mounts for Australia to amend its deportation bill over human rights concerns
The Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024, Australia’s deportation bill, should be amended to safeguard the human right to seek asylum and offer protections to survivors of modern slavery.
The bill continues to be a source of concern, despite recent events highlighting the dangers of anti-refugee sentiment.
Following the UK race riots, fuelled by politicians and media scapegoating refugees, it’s alarming that the Australian Government hasn’t taken advice from human rights experts. They must either add protections to this bill or abandon it.
What is Australia’s Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024?
The bill allows for the removal of refugee status, resulting in deportations to countries where people may be at risk of harm.
People can also be forced to assist with their own deportation. If they refuse or fail to comply, they can face up to 5 years in prison.
This is regardless of how long they have lived in Australia or if they have family in the country.
The bill would also grant the Immigration Minister the power to block visa applications from entire countries.
How does Australia’s deportation bill increase vulnerability for survivors of modern slavery?
This bill can pose particular risks for people trapped in situations of modern slavery. By prioritising deportation over protection, the legislation risks exposing people to situations where exploitation is more likely.
Displaced people are highly vulnerable to modern slavery, such as forced labour or human trafficking. The introduction of these strict measures means people may be sent back to unsafe environments.
Seeking refuge is an essential human right that must be protected to ensure safety, especially for those fleeing violence or persecution.
Australia has a responsibility to uphold this right, yet the Migration Amendment Bill may undermine this duty.
What are the human rights implications of Australia’s deportation bill?
Refugees and asylum seekers face heightened risks of modern slavery at every stage of their journey to safety.
These dangers are amplified by factors like the breakdown of social networks, lack of basic resources, and exposure to threats or violence.
The Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill may harm vulnerable people by:
- Silencing victims and creating barriers to seeking assistance due to fear of criminalisation and deportation.
- Creating more barriers to access to justice, including limiting the ability of law enforcement to hold offenders of modern slavery crimes to account.
- Retraumatising people with lived experience of modern slavery by instituting removal policies which some survivors have likened to the actions of traffickers.
- Fundamentally misunderstanding the exploitative nature of trafficking by illogically concluding that a person can be ‘deterred’ from being trafficked when they are exploited by traffickers who deny them their free will and agency.
- Punishing victims if they fail to comply with a removal pathway direction through criminalisation and travel bans.
In doing so, this bill would undermine Australia’s efforts to combat modern slavery by making it harder for victims to seek safety and support. It’s crucial for the bill to be abandoned.
What can you do?
You can urgently contact your senator to let them know you don’t support the Bill as currently written.
Urge your representative to take into account how this Bill will negatively impact Australia’s efforts to combat modern slavery.
A list of senators is available to help you find the name of your local senator and their contact details.
