Considering the “risk of irreparable harm through violence and neglect”, and calling out the “deliberate, avoidable, and prolonged” violations against human rights obligations, ALHR President Kerry Weste urged the Australian government to “bring people to safety as a matter of urgency.”

Ms Weste is calling for effective policies to enhance the ability of involved countries to provide protection instead of limiting it.

While highlighting a need to look at regional approaches to refugee problems, she did concede that “while the US process is a solution for some refugees, it won’t be a solution for everyone.”

Twelve people have lost their lives as a result of the offshore processing policy, and Ms Weste is fearful of evidence suggesting this number would continue to rise, “if Australia does not immediately resolve the situation it created.”

“The people affected, many of whom were already victims of human rights violations in their own countries, have lost five years of their lives and many may never fully recover. The policy has shattered dozens of children who have spent vital years of their lives knowing nothing but detention-like conditions. Others have been forced to grow up separated from their parents, all only for Australia to send a message.”

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“There is little doubt that some people who originally supported the offshore processing policy did so with good intentions, but in the face of more than five years of evidence of the harm inflicted on innocent people, the time has passed for anyone to see this as anything other than unnecessary cruelty,” Ms Weste said.

“We should not look away until every last person can get on with their lives in safety.”