Former Manus detainee at the UN calls on Morrison Government to give freedom to refugees
Abdul Aziz Muhamat, a refugee and human rights defender, addressed the United Nations in Geneva to call out the Morrison Government’s continued cruel treatment of people still held on Nauru and in Papua New Guinea.
“Each day it gets worse for the vulnerable people still detained by the Australian Government on PNG and Nauru. Human beings are being destroyed, physically and mentally. Twelve people have died. This is a humanitarian crisis that requires urgent action. I am asking the UN and the international community to demand the Australian Government act humanely,” said Mr Muhamat.
Mr Muhamat, who has just returned from witnessing the devastating conditions for people seeking asylum in the refugee camps in Greece, spoke on behalf of the Human Rights Law Centre at the UN Human Rights Council, the UN body responsible for protecting human rights globally.
“Atrocities continue to happen right now while political leaders are so quiet as if nothing happens at all. All countries should show compassion for people seeking safety. All countries must be part of the solution. All countries must uphold their human rights obligations. The Australian Government must not be allowed to detain people indefinitely. Because now other countries are copying the human rights abuses of Australia,” said Mr Muhamat.
Edwina MacDonald, Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre, who has been in Geneva to monitor the Australian Government’s role at the Human Rights Council, called on the Morrison Government to end the suffering of people it continues to hold indefinitely.
“The Australian Government continues to act with breathtaking hypocrisy, claiming to support human rights at the UN while indefinitely imprisoning men and women in offshore detention camps.”
“These people – imprisoned for fleeing the same atrocities this Government comes to the UN to condemn – have now been detained for nearly seven years. No government can truly stand for human rights while choosing to severely damage the lives of innocent people,” said Ms MacDonald.
Watch Abdul Aziz Muhamat’s UN statement.
Read Abdul Aziz Muhamat’s UN statement.
Media contact:
Michelle Bennett, Communications Director, Human Rights Law Centre: 0419 100 519
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