A/HRC/35/25/Add.3
A.
Normative and institutional framework for the protection of the human
rights of migrants
102.
Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and establish an independent
national preventative mechanism.
103.
Ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the Migration for Employment
Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary
Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143).
104. Ensure that all Australian legislation, including the Migration Act, is fully in
line with international human rights standards and the interpretation of those
standards provided by international human rights bodies.
B.
Border management
105. Recognize that, at some point, repression of irregular migration is
counterproductive, as it drives migrants further underground, thereby empowering
smuggling rings, and creating conditions of alienation and marginalization that foster
human rights violations, such as exploitation, discrimination and violence against
migrants.
106. Ensure that readmission and cooperation agreements aimed at, inter alia,
combating irregular migration, include safeguards to fully respect the human rights of
migrants, and ensure adequate protection of vulnerable migrants, including asylum
seekers and refugees, in particular regarding the principle of non-refoulement. Such
agreements should be negotiated and published in full transparency, with clear
human rights guarantees and accountability mechanisms integrated at all stages.
107. Direct the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to conduct a
review of proposals to give greater weight to time spent living in Australia in
consideration of applications for permanent residence. The review should also
consider the merits of setting a limit on the period of temporary residence after which
it would be reasonable for any temporary visa holder to qualify for permanent
residence.
C.
Detention
108. Change its laws and policies related to mandatory administrative detention of
migrants in an irregular situation and asylum seekers, so that detention is decided on
a case-by-case basis and pursuant to clearly and exhaustively defined criteria in
legislation, under which detention is a measure of last resort and is limited to the
shortest time possible, rather than being the automatic consequence of a decision to
refuse admission of entry or of a removal order.
109. Ensure that migrants are detained only because there is reasonable evidence
that they present a danger to the public, or would abscond from future proceedings.
110. Ensure that non-custodial measures are always considered first as alternatives
to detention.
111. Ensure that all detained migrants have access to proper medical care, adequate
food and clothes, hygienic conditions, adequate space to move around, and access to
outdoor exercise.
112. Systematically inform detained migrants in writing, in a language that they
understand, of the reason for their detention, its duration, their right to have access to
a lawyer, their right to promptly challenge their detention and their right to seek
asylum.
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