Australia has the worst immigration detention track records on the planet. On average, the country holds people in immigration detention for 689 days -- nearly two full calendar years -- which is 12 times longer than the average in the United States, a country notorious for deplorable immigration detention conditions. Immigrants are human beings, and deserve dignity and respect. There is no excuse for this horrific violation of human rights.
Sign now to demand the Australian government stop this clear violation of human rights and find rights-respecting alternatives to detention!
According to a domestic report, just under 1,500 people are currently being held in various facilities in Australia, including over 70 refugees and asylum seekers. While these numbers are already damning, perhaps the worst statistic from the report shows that eight people have now spent more than 10 years in Australian immigration. Another 117 have been detained for longer than five years.
In Canada, the average length of immigrant detention stay is only 14 days, which proves that shorter detention is clearly possible in other countries. But as Human Rights Watch notes, countries should be moving away from the inhumane practice of detention altogether. Case management services, for example, can offer an effective alternative that doesn't involve imprisoning human beings in cages at all, let alone for two years.
The Australian government must find rights-respecting alternatives to detention. This is more important now than ever, as climate-induced disasters will likely cause more rapid global migration in the coming decades than we have seen in centuries. We must stop this horrific practice before more immigrants are forced to suffer these human rights abuses. Sign the petition now to put pressure on the Australian government! 