|
SYDNEY: Australia’s official human rights watchdog on Wednesday
criticized conditions in some of the government’s immigration
detention centers, describing one as a “disgrace” that should be
demolished.
The Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission (HREOC) said despite improvements in the
centers, illegal immigrants and asylum seekers were still held for
too long and repeated its call for mandatory detention to be
scrapped.
Its annual report was
particularly critical of the country’s biggest center, at
Villawood in Sydney’s west, which it said held a large number of
long-term detainees with ever-worsening mental health problems.
“Though improvements have been
made for many people held in detention in Australia, the conditions
in Stage One of the Villawood immigration center, where many
long-term detainees are held, remain a disgrace,” Commissioner
Graeme Innes said.
“Last year HREOC recommended
that Stage One be demolished, we make the same recommendation this
year.”
The report, which was based on
visits made by the commission to centers around Australia between
August and November 2007, also found that people were held in
indefinite detention for too long.
The report said that some
detainees were held for years, noting that of the 231 held at
Villawood in July, 77 had been in detention for more than 12 months.
“We need to get people out of
detention faster in order to reduce the risk of causing long-term
mental health damage,” Innes said in a statement.
The previous Australian
government took a hard line against asylum seekers and illegal
immigrants but it was forced to soften its policies in 2005 after
several miscarriages of justice came to light.
In one case, a Vietnamese
immigrant was held in detention for six years despite having a valid
visa before being released in 2005.
--AFP
|
