People keep asking me if ‘boat people’ are illegal. Let’s settle this. They’re NOT. This is just a very quick post outlining why. For more information about all of this stuff, I recommend you read my full refugee post…
They break no laws
For an act to be illegal, it must break a law. ‘Boat people’ break no laws. That’s why none of the people who call them illegals are able to point to a law they break.
And they’re just exercising their fundamental human rights
Furthermore, not only is it NOT illegal, international law specifically says it’s LEGAL. Everyone has a fundamental human right to seek asylum (under Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights).
But Australia is breaking the law
Ironically, it’s Australia that’s breaking the law, not the asylum seekers. Australia is bound by international law to assess asylum claims from people who come to our shores (under the Refugee Convention), and to protect them if they’re found to be genuine refugees. In turning boats back, arbitrarily detaining asylum seekers in order to deter others, and refusing to process asylum claims, we’re breaching that Convention. We’re also breaching other international laws:
- International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
- International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR)
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- Australia’s Criminal Code (Commonwealth)
Read more on how we’re breaking these laws…
Please share
All Australians need to know this information. If more of us knew it, far fewer of us would be so willing to back the government’s inhumane asylum seeker policy. So please share with your friends and colleagues by hitting any of the share buttons below.
I would ask how many of these ‘international laws’ are moral laws?
If we are to accept that multiculturalism is inevitable then it seems that us, of a particular cultural ethnic, have to pack our swags and bid adieu!
The white race, in Australia as in Europe and elsewhere, are being discriminated against by governments lobbied by powerful interest’s who, as many have witnessed, are promoting racist policies in their own Head Quarters!…. you decide!
Kindly inform me if the laws you promoted are mercantile laws or are the moral laws of the right of an ethnic group to protect their culture.
I would ask how many of these ‘international laws’ are moral laws?
If we are to accept that multiculturalism is inevitable then it seems that us, of a particular cultural ethnic, have to pack our swags and bid adieu!
The white race, in Australia as in Europe and elsewhere, are being discriminated against by governments lobbied by powerful interest’s who, as many have witnessed, are promoting racist policies in their own Head Quarters!…. you decide!
Kindly inform me if the laws you promoted are mercantile laws or are the moral laws of the right of an ethnic group to protect their culture.
Hi Garth. Thanks for your comment. But the fact that you’re asking how many of the laws are ‘moral laws’ indicates you haven’t actually read them. I’d suggest you do so before offering an opinion.
Furthermore, this isn’t about multiculturalism; refugees who come by boat account for just 2.5% of our entire immigration intake. So if you have issues with multiculturalism, perhaps start with immigration generally, not with the people who are fleeing wrongful imprisonment, torture, murder and other forms of persecution.
As for the white race being discriminated against, that’s patently absurd. Is it whites in unlawful mandatory detention? No. I think you may have the wrong end of the stick there. :-\
Hi Glenn,
Terrific site. I do understand and support many of your statements on asylum seekers but unfortunately there are just too many issues without solutions…
Currently the Abbott government have made it extremely harsh for asylum seekers by boat. The result has been reduced boat arrivals and many in Indonesia deciding to either forego an attempt by boat, seek other options or wait until the government changes policies or be kicked out by Labor. The very recent tragedies in Italy for the asylum seekers going by boat from Libya highlight just how necessary it is to stop people choosing to come by boat. Honestly, I’m glad that at least there aren’t any deaths in the past year from boat people trying to come to Australia.
If laws are changed, we will probably see what happened after Rudd overturned Howard’s policies – many many people will attempt the dangerous trip. So, what is the solution? Unfortunately, it does seem that the cruel policies have prevented deaths.
Also, if more and more people were to come because of relaxed policies for boat people, wouldn’t there also be a surge in the number of economic migrants amongst the genuine refugees?
Finally, the big issue for Australians is the whole “assimilation” issue. They see the recent Sydney terror at Lindt cafe by a refugee, cases of rape in Sydneys West and South west by refugees and Muslims, second generation Muslims being radicalised and wanting to join IS, Muslim families with many children, unemployment amongst Muslim youth etc etc and view it as Muslim refugees not assimilating. Although not all asylum seekers are Muslim, it is presumed by the public that the majority are and the real point is, they don’t want Muslims coming. I see it as a huge problem. There needs to be in place some program or something to help reduce this growing resentment of Muslims in our community but the government (both sides) have failed to study and analyse this. Without a better system, there will just be greater issues between Muslims and the rest of the community and henceforth the resentment against asylum seekers. It would be useful to understand what other countries have done to have a more harmonious community (maybe Singapore? They seem to all get along better than we are doing).