The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, expressed concern at Australia’s new policy of that allows for immediate deportation of Sri Lankan refugees seeking asylum.
Speaking at a Democracy forum in Indonesia, Pillay outlined why so many Tamil were leaving Sri Lanka and voiced her concerns about the Australian deportation policy.
She said that Sri Lanka was still volatile, despite the end of the armed conflict.
“Now that was a conflict area, matters have not stabilised as yet. All the reports reaching me ar that people are concerned over control being imposed over them”
“So I can understand if they’d be leaving out of feat or for their personal security, and it really cries out for all the refugee protections, asylum seeker protections to be made particularly applicable to them,” she said
The Australian Governments new deportation policy, which was instated in August, has resulted in the involuntary deportation of 186 refugees back to Sri Lanka.
Navi Pillay also criticised Australia's off-shore detention policy.
''I am highly concerned that detention in regional offshore processing centres such as in Nauru could result in indefinite detention and other human rights violations,'' she said.
''All people, including migrants, have the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and this form of detention has been shown at times to violate this right.
''It could well end up as indefinite detention, and people in indefinite detention suffer significant mental health issues - and Australia should be well aware of this."
