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Over the past six years the Edmund Rice Centre has conducted a systematic study into Australia's treatment of rejected asylum seekers.
So far the results of this research have been formally presented in the publication of two reports Deported to Danger (Sept 2004) and Deported to Danger II (Sept 2006). Additionally submissions have been made to senate enquiries and the research findings tested at Senate hearings. All of this information is publicly accessible via this website.
This week will see the national screening on SBS television of the documentary film A Well-Founded Fear which portrays some of the human realities behind this research work. I commend this film to you along with the published reports.
I also invite you to support this work in each of three ways:-
I thank you for your support - even more so during these difficult financial times. Without this support we would not be able to continue with our work.
Phil
Phil Glendenning, Director
A car dominated transport system is a recipe for disaster. They are expensive, unhealthy and dangerous.
Without a total rethink and dramatic changes our cities risk economic and environmental collapse. People are pushed into private vehicles. Building more freeways is seen a solution.
Minimal planning or spending has not gone into healthier alternatives such a cycling and walking. There are rising health costs due to toxic gas and particle emissions; medical costs due to obesity; and the cost associated with accidents. The threat from greenhouse gas emissions to global warming might be the greatest cost.
Read more
| Submission to the Review Board of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) Time for a New Approach: Consultation and Non-Discrimination the Key August 2008 Excerpts from introduction to the submission:- This submission from ERC will attempt to answer a number of the reference questions provided by the Northern Territory Emergency Response Review Board, specifically Questions 4, 6 and 8. However, ERC would like to note that the NTER in general has suffered from a lack of clarity about key goals and desired outcomes. It is impossible to answer many of these questions for the simple reason that there are not sufficient criteria for measurement of performance. Policy should be based on good empirical evidence measured with well-known and agreed criteria. Thus far, there is a lack of both good empirical evidence and good criteria in this context.
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The Federal government is developing a National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Children. Lilla: International Women's Network, initiated by the Edmund Rice Centre (ERC) has made a submission to inform the development of this National Plan.
In this submission, Lilla argues that grass-roots women's initiatives are the fundamental building blocks of any effective, sustainable and long-term effort to eliminate violence against women. Lilla urges the National Council overseeing the developement of this new National Plan to adopt as a key over-arching strategy: the empowerment of women from victims of violence to agents of social change.
The full submission can be read here.
The Edmund Rice Centre has made a submission to the Federal Parliament's Inquiry into Immigration Detention. The Inquiry which was called in June by Senator Evans, the Minster for Immigration is being conducted by Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Migration.
In its submission the Edmund Rice Centre (ERC) argues that mandatory detention should be dropped immediately, presenting evidence of how it is in breach of Australia's legal commitments under the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees.ERC submits that:
• Australian reception of asylum seekers should embrace a continuum of measures ordinarily based on well-supported accommodation with communities which may, in extreme circumstances, include detention.
• Any decisions concerning which measure to apply in particular cases should only be applied after proper judicial review according to the principles of proportionality and necessity consonant with Human Rights Law.
• Wide community involvement and engagement with Government is the best way to fulfil Australia's commitments under the Convention.
The full submission can be read here
Visit of His Excellency Anote Tong, MP, President of the Republic of Kiribati
Some industrialized countries might be arguing that climate change would hurt their economic development. Sadly, I say no. Climate change is not an issue of economic growth. It is an issue of human survival.
- President of Kiribati, Anote Tong.
In a bid to remind the Australian community that his small island nation is facing extinction, His Excellency Anote Tong, MP, President of the Republic of Kiribati visited ERC to meet with media and members of the Pacific Calling Partnership on Saturday 21st of June 2008.
An Edmund Rice Centre call in the wake of tragic death in China
The tragic death of the man known as Mr Zhang who was forcibly returned to China by Australian immigration is not an isolated case.
Edmund Rice Centre Director, Phil Glendenning, said today that the latest tragedy reveals once more the serious errors in Australia’s treatment of people seeking protection.
Recently returned from a research visit to five countries monitoring rejected asylum seeker safety, Mr Glendenning said, “Australia has deported many rejected asylum seekers to situations where they are being persecuted and their lives are at risk.
The Pacific Calling Partnership has called for Australians to be reminded of the effects of greenhouse gases on the lives of our Pacific island neighbours at all World Environment Day events this year.
“Too often it is the people who are forgotten in the midst of statistics about emission targets and carbon offsets that characterise much of the environmental debate in this country”, said ERC's Jill Finnane, Coordinator of the Pacific Calling Partnership.
“The needs of countries like Kiribati are urgent and indicate the desperation people are facing now. Their cries must be heard and responded to. The Pacific Calling Partnership is dedicated to ensuring the voices of the people are heard”, Ms Finnane said.
| Many of us do it. It is easy to carry around. It is easy to obtain. It is trendy. For some years the mantra from the sport and health world has been ‘hydrate, hydrate, hydrate’ as they try to get us to drink the so-called daily intake advised by experts. So from backpacks to conference rooms there is bottled water. Clever marketing and advertising have caused people to distrust the quality of tap water. Have we considered whether it is environmentally, economically and politically sustainable? We need to think more consciously about what we are doing.
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The world’s media has been saturated with coverage of warfare in recent years, yet the deadliest conflict since the Second World War has gone virtually unreported by the press. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has endured a loss of life on the scale of September 11 every two days since 1998. This war, and the silence that surrounds it, has been sustained by the vested interests of nations and corporations hungry to make a profit. | |
Lilla, the international women’s network initiated by the Edmund Rice Centre is organising internships to organizations in Kolkata, India and Chiapas, Mexico working in the area of social justice for women. These internships will offer successful applicants a volunteer position within an exciting women's organisation and are scheduled to run over 2008/2009
Since independence in 1948, Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) has been the site of escalating violence between the majority Sinhalese community and minority Tamils. The current ethnic conflict has deep historical, racio-religious, geo-political and economic roots intermingled with local power politics. | |
With highlighted attention on the abuse of human rights in China in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, Associated Press (AP) has reported that the Malaysian Government has banned performances of an artistic dance presentation seen as critical of China.
The AP report quoted an unnamed official in Malaysia's Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage as saying the show's performance permit was revoked because the Chinese Embassy complained that the organizers were supporters of Falun Gong. "We have to take care of our relationship with China. It is very important." the official said.
Parts of the performance hint artistically at the persecution of Falun Gong practioners by police in China.
The show is on a world tour and will be presented across Australia in coming weeks with performances:-
For ticket information visit www.divineperformingarts.org
Buddhism is an ancient belief system which focuses on personal spiritual development and the pursuit of harmony, wisdom and compassion. The importance of showing concern for others and living a morally responsible life lie at the heart of Buddhist teachings. While the Buddhist faith is thriving in Australia, this peaceful religion and its homeland of Tibet are threatened by Chinese Government repression and control. | |
| The bitter taste of chocolate Can you live on chocolate alone? Neither can the countless farming families that depend on cocoa for a living? Nearly half the world’s chocolate is made from cocoa grown in the Cote d’Ivoire, in Africa. 12, 000 children have been trafficked into cocoa farms in Cote d’Ivoire. When we buy chocolate we are being forced to be oppressors ourselves as we have no guarantee that the chocolate we eat is ‘traffik free’. Download document here: .pdf 328KB |  |
Now for 10 Year Old Recommendations to be Acted On
The Edmund Rice Centre today welcomed the apology to the Stolen Generations to be made in the Australian Parliament and urged the Rudd Government to also ensure that the recommendations of the 1997 Bringing Them Home Report are implemented.
Climate change and war are intimately related. Future generations will ask us: “What did you do to diminish climate change by trying to stop the invasion of Iraq? What did you do to prevent the terrible effects of climate change such as rising sea levels, desertification, drought, cyclones and the collapse of vulnerable societies?” No longer can these be called ‘acts of God’. They must be called by their true name: ‘acts of people’. Working for peace is integral to overcoming climate change – and peace movements and environmental groups need to work together. |
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It is not enough for wealthy nations to focus on projected emission targets
The Edmund Rice Centre, the coordinating organization of the Pacific Calling Partnership (PCP), today called for the climate change debate to focus beyond science and economics, reminding participants that they must also consider the needs of effected peoples.
The media release may be downloaded here: pdf (2 pages -- 37KB)
Sign-up for: ERC In Touch
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Just Comment Vol 11 No 6: Militarism on Guam
The Chamoru people of Guam are desperate. They have lost their land. They have lost their right to govern themselves. They have lost many of their own people to cancers due to the high contamination of the land. They feel abandoned by the United Nations which has not upheld its own protocols and conventions. They have lost their resources and public utilities to privatisation. This indigenous culture will die rapidly without action. The death of culture and the increasing death rate of the people due to poverty and sickness amount to ‘ethnic cleansing’. The US presence with its massive ecological and military footprint threatens the people of Guam in a number of ways: their culture, their language, their health, their livelihood and indeed their very existence. Being where they are, the people of this tiny island are directly threatened in the event of a military strike in the region. |
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PO Box 2219 (15 Henley Rd)
Homebush West, NSW 2140
AUSTRALIA
Ph: (02) 8762 4200
Int'l: +61 2 8762 4200
Fax: (02) 8762 4220
Int'l: +61 2 8762 4220
Email: erc@erc.org.au
Located just 100 metres to the south of Flemington Railway Station. Link to new location on Google Maps
Upcoming and recent ERC events:
(1) Support ERC's work for Refugees & Asylum Seekers
(2) Documentary screening - A Well Founded Fear
(3) Lilla Women's Network - Interns to Mexico & India
(4) Brooklyn Project - Gathering II
(5) Pat Dodson - ERC partner recognised
(1) Support ERC's work for Refugees & Asylum Seekers
Support is urgently needed for Edmund Rice Centre's on-going research into the fate of failed asylum seekers who have been deported by the Australian Government into situations of danger.
The results of this research conducted by ERC Director Phil Glendenning and colleagues has been published in two reports: Deported to Danger. Information about the research and copies of the reports are available here.
To donate to support this work please go to our donations page.
Donations for this ERC work are tax deductible!
(2) Documentary screening - A Well Founded Fear
A Well-Founded Fear is the moving documentary film about ERC's research work to follow up on the fate of asylum seekers who are deported from Australia.
With footage shot in Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Canada, the film shows part of the search for the asylum seekers Australia rejected.
The film will screen nationally on SBS Television at 8.30pm Wed, 19th Nov 08.
Further information on ERC's Deportation Research is accessible here.
(3) Lilla Women's Network - Interns to Mexico & India
Expressions of Interest are being called for by Lilla International Women's Network for participating in upcoming internships in Mexico or India. Further details.
(4) Brooklyn Project - Gathering II
ERC's The Brooklyn Project brings together young people from around the country to revisit the 1890's process of forming our nation's Constitution.
The second Brooklyn Project gathering was held in Sydney on Wed, 5th Nov 2008. This event with Pat Dodson was a follow-up to the initial April 08 gathering. Further details.
(5) Pat Dodson - ERC partner recognised
Pat Dodson, Chairperson of the Lingiari Foundation, close ERC partner, and co-founder of the Brooklyn Project is the winner of the 2008 Sydney Peace Prize.
Pat delivered the City of Sydney Peace Prize Lecture 2008 in the Opera House on Wed, 5th Nov 2008.
He was presented with the award at the Sydney Peace Prize Award Ceremony & Gala Dinner on Thu, 6th Nov 08 in the Great Hall, University of Sydney.
Event Calendar
Click here for NSW events, or click on any other of the region tabs at the top, for details of more social justice, human rights & eco-justice related events in your area.
List an event: To list a Social Justice, Human Rights or EcoJustice event for your organisation on ERC's Events Calendar click here
