Asylum seekers treatment in Australia`s Detention Centre`s

A Serco training manual instructing immigration detention centre guards to use force to incapacitate detainees was leaked. It included techniques to kick, punch and target pressure points on detainees.

Serco Group plc is a British government services company based in United Kingdom. its operations are public and private transport and traffic control, aviation, military and nuclear weapons contracts, detention centers, prisons, and schools. Currently Serco has a $1 billion contract with the Gillard Government to run nine detention centers and is thought to be responsible for 4783 asylum seekers across Australia.

Recently a prison-style training manual purportedly designed by Serco has been leaked by Crikey online, detailing explicit instructions on how to use pain to “control and restrain” hostile detainees.

Firstly personnel are taught to target detainees’ pressure points and put detainees in “joint-lock control and escort” positions to render them motionless. Beyond those responses are defensive counter strikes that involve straight punches, palm heel strikes, side angle kicks, front thrust kicks and knee strikes.

The theory behind the counter strikes is to “create temporary motor dysfunction” and “temporary muscle impairment” through the “fluid shock wave” that gets sent around detainees’ bodies, but only leaves bruising, the manual explains.

It is not known whether the training manual has since been updated. Serco has repeatedly fought the release of similar documents, claiming other versions are not in the “public interest” and could cause commotion inside lockups.

The Age reported that the Immigration Department had modeled its policy on restricting media access to detention centres by consulting the United States’ rules for Guantanamo Bay.

“Serco’s training manual, complete with detailed instruction on the infliction of pain and carefully-split gender roles for staff, appears to be based on techniques for maintaining control inside prisons.”The Department of Immigration likes to say that detention centres are not prisons, or places of punishment, but Serco’s manual clearly establishes exactly such a framework.”

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young was expected to read key sections of the training manual to Parliament. She said the guide taught guards to treat “vulnerable people as if they are prisoners, when they have broken no laws and are asserting their international right to seek asylum”.

“There is nothing in this training manual to suggest anybody working on the ground in our detention centres has the skills necessary to deal with the specific needs of asylum seekers,”. “All it does is teaching how to use force. Serco officers themselves have told the Immigration Detention Centre inquiry and their union that they are ill-equipped to deal with mental health issues and suicide prevention training.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has continued to back Serco and its methods. A department spokeswoman said that while DIAC did not approve Serco’s training manual, since that was a matter for the company, it did assess very carefully during the tendering process for the government’s $1billion contract “the capability, the experience and the culture” of the bidding companies.

There are presently three inquiries into deaths in immigration detention centres run by Serco in Australia. Serco’s UK parent company was last year found responsible for the death of 14-year-old Adam Rickwood, who was staying at a UK youth training centre.

Malaysia Plan Still an Option for Australia’s Government

The Australian Government’s plan to send asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat to Malaysia is still up in the air after debate on the law to allow offshore processing was delayed this morning because the Government did not have the votes.

The Government was going to introduce the law for debate today.  After it became clear that they would lose the vote, they held an emergency cabinet meeting and delayed the vote for a later date.

The politician with the deciding vote, Mr Crook, said last night that he would not support the changes.  He said that the new law could stop asylum seekers trying to get to Australia by boat but he was worried about how the asylum seekers, especially children, would be treated in Malaysia.

Malaysia has not signed the United Nation’s Refugee Convention.

But Mr Crook said that he would support the law changes proposed by the Opposition because these would allow offshore processing in countries which have signed the Refugee Convention – like Nauru.

Nauru has recently signed the Refugee Convention and the Opposition would like asylum seekers arriving by boat to be sent there instead of Malaysia.

The Opposition says that the offshore processing centre in Nauru was successful in protecting Australia’s borders and deterring people smuggling.

The system, often called the Pacific Solution, was implemented by the Opposition between 2001 and 2007.  The Leader of the Opposition says that Nauru is a “proven solution for offshore processing”.

Almost all Australian politicians support offshore processing at the moment, suggesting that the Government and the Opposition only need to agree on which country the asylum seekers arriving by boat will be sent.

The Government said this morning that they “remained committed” to the Malaysia swap deal.

Australia Debates Migration Law Changes

Last week the Australian parliament opened a debate on the changes to the country’s migration laws. Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced the changes so that it would be legal to send asylum-seekers to another nation for processing.

The migration issue has dominated Australian politics since the High Court rejected the Government’s policy of sending asylum-seekers to Malaysia for processing. Ms. Gillard hopes that by changing the law her Government can continue with the Malaysia plan and stop the High Court from interfering.

Gillard told 2SM radio “People are sick of watching the politics around all of this, the most humane way to deal with asylum seekers and refugees is to do everything you can to deter people from getting on leaky boats where they can lose their lives.”

Opposition leader Tony Abbott says he will only support the legislation if the government accepts an amendment that would rule out Malaysia because it is not a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention. He says he will only support the changes to the law if the Government sends asylum-seekers to the Pacific Island of Nauru instead.

Nauru was a part of the Pacific Solution, the toughest set of asylum-seeker policies Australia has ever had, and in the 7 years the detention centre was open only 288 asylum-seekers came to Australia by boat.

Ms. Gillard does not want to send asylum-seekers to Nauru because when the detention centre was open there, it was thought to be psychologically damaging for detainees. The party she leads, the Labor Party closed it in 2008 for humanitarian reasons.

Both political parties agree that sending asylum-seekers to other countries for processing will discourage asylum-seekers from paying people smugglers who try to transport them across the ocean to Australia in unsafe boats. Where they disagree is over which country to send the asylum-seekers to.

Australia’s parliament has delayed a vote on changes to the migration law until October 11.

However currently, the recent arrival of two boats to Australia has added fire to the politics of the migration debate. Ms. Gillard blames Mr. Abbott for the arrivals saying that he is weakening the Government in the face of people smugglers.

One of the boats was found north of Christmas Island, initially thought to have 60 people onboard but further investigation revealed a “deck below the main deck” concealing 50 people, 49 asylum seekers and one crew member.

The second boat carrying 66 people sent out a distress signal after passenger concerns about overcrowding and had to be rescued by Indonesian and Australian authorities.

In total 175 asylum seekers will have health and security checks on Christmas Island.

Australia sticks to Malaysia plan

Prime Minister Ms. Julia Gillard and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced that the government would change the migration law after a High Court decision that put in doubt the Malaysian refugee swap deal and other forms of offshore processing.

Ms. Gillard said the amendments would simply restore the understanding of the Migration Act that existed prior to the High Court’s decision. The processing of asylum-seekers in other countries would be allowed and the Government would have the power to decided where they should be sent.

Ms. Gillard says the Government is determined to continue to implement the agreement with Malaysia.

Under the Malaysian deal, Australia would send the next 800 asylum-seekers that arrive by boat to Malaysia in exchange for 4,000 processed and recognized refugees.

The government’s advice remained that the Malaysian agreement would send a strong message to people-smugglers and deter asylum-seekers from making the dangerous sea journey by boat.

“That is why Malaysia, when we announced it, was the best option for smashing the people smugglers’ business model. It remains the best option”, Ms. Gillard says.

The government would also use the changes to send asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea.

The Government insists the new policy will fulfill Australia’s obligations under the United Nations convention.

The proposed changes will be introduced to Australia’s Parliament next week for approval.

Australia is currently detaining all asylum-seekers arriving by boat, including several hundred in a Centre on Christmas Island which has seen riots in recent months.

Changes to Australia’s asylum-seeker policies

There have been many changes in Australia’s policies towards asylum-seekers in the last six weeks. Some of them have been perceived as good for asylum-seekers that want to go there and some have been seen as bad. One thing that has not changed though is Australia’s commitment to break the people-smuggling business and to stop asylum-seekers making the dangerous journey to Australia by boat.

Tomorrow the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard will present a new policy to deal with asylum-seekers. Media reports suggest that the government will now try to change the Migration Act – the law controlling immigration to Australia – so the deal with Malaysia will become legal and Australia will be able to process asylum-seekers off-shore.

On 31 August, the High Court rejected the deal, saying that under existing law, Australia could not transfer asylum-seekers to another country unless that nation was bound by law to protect them. Refugee activists that argued the case for asylum-seekers in court say they are disappointed the government could now change the law.

While the Malaysia solution is likely to be revived, the government also has a few other options to consider. While waiting for the High Court decision, the government signed an agreement with Papua New Guinea to reopen a detention centre on Manus Island to receive newly arriving asylum-seekers for processing. There has also been discussion of making a deal with Nauru to reopen a detention centre there.

If you are being told that now is the time to go to Australia then be careful because things can change quickly again. With all the options I described it could even get worse for asylum-seekers going there.

Australia and Malaysia sign an asylum-seeker deal

Yesterday Malaysia and Australia signed a deal to swap 800 asylum-seekers that arrive to Australia illegally by boat for 4,000 genuine refugees currently waiting for resettlement in Malaysia.

From midnight last night, any asylum-seeker arriving to Australia by boat will be sent to Malaysia to have their refugee claims assessed. The agreement is part of the Australian government’s push to develop a regional solution to people smuggling and to deter asylum-seekers from making the dangerous boat journey from Indonesia to Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the agreement will “smash the business model of people smugglers.”

“My message to anyone who is considering paying money to a people smuggler and risking their life at sea and perhaps the lives of their family members as well, is do not do that in the false hope that you will be able to have your claim processed in Australia,” she says.

Asylum-seekers that are transferred to Malaysia will be treated lawfully and provided with exemption under the Malaysian Immigration Act and Passports Act.

They will be initially accommodated in a transit centre in Malaysia for up to 45 days with support from UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration.

Following initial processing, the transferred asylum-seekers will move into the community, with work rights, access to education and health care. Unlike the 90,000 refugees already there.

The Australian government has said that those who are transferred will receive no better or faster treatment in the processing of their claims or arrangements for resettlement over other asylum seekers in Malaysia.

The Australian Prime Minister also confirmed that the 4,000 refugees coming to Australia would be taken from those refugees already registered in Malaysia before the agreement and would not include any of the 800 asylum seekers sent from Australia.

Australia will pay for all costs – around $300 million over four years – including transport, welfare, health and education. Australia will also assist Malaysia in returning failed asylum seekers currently held in Malaysia to their countries of origin.

The agreement has the backing of both the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Prime Minister Gillard promised transferees would be treated with dignity and respect.”They will not be arrested and not be caned,” she said. Malaysia has given guarantees that those transferred will be treated in accordance with human rights standards.

However the 500 asylum seekers on Christmas Island who arrived after the Government announced the swap deal but before it was signed will be processed in Australia, not offshore as initially promised.

This deal is the first of its kind and has been criticized by some organizations. Human Rights Watch has criticized the swap deal and has publicly called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to withdraw their support of the deal because the agreement would allow Australia to delegate its obligations to Malaysia, a country that has not signed the Refugee Convention.

It is now very difficult for asylum-seekers to arrive to a foreign country using the services of a people smuggler and be accepted by that country. Foreign governments want to take asylum-seekers and refugees the legal and official way through the UNHCR system found in refugee camps around the world. Australia will no longer accept any illegal boat arrivals to their shore but they will accept more than 14,000 refugees through the UNHCR system.