SYDNEY: Australia has rejected a United Nations call to release a Tamil asylum-seeking family from offshore detention after the UN weighed in on a case that has galvanized huge public support.
The family of four has been held at the Christmas Island detention facility for the past month while their fight to stay in the country is before the courts.
Kokilapathmapriya Nadesalingam and Nadesalingam Murugappan, from Sri Lanka, arrived in Australia by boat separately in 2012 and 2013 seeking asylum and have not been accepted as refugees.
Their two children, Kopika and Tharunicaa, were both born in Australia and the family’s legal battle hinges on the youngest daughter as her lawyer argues her claim has never been assessed.
Lawyer Carina Ford made a submission to the UN’s Human Rights Committee last month on the toddler’s behalf.
In an October 1 letter, seen by AFP, the committee says in response that it “has requested the State party to transfer (the family) within 30 days into a community setting arrangement or to find another way to end their existing situation of detention.”
A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said in a statement that the department was “aware” of the UN’s request, but the family would remain on Christmas Island while their case was under judicial review.
Family friend Angela Fredericks described the UN’s position as “confirmation” that detention facilities were “no place for children or for families.”
“We’ve seen that over the last 19 months with the emotional and physical damage that has occurred to these girls,” she told AFP.
Australia’s hard-line immigration policies include turning away refugees arriving by boat and offshore detention, both measures condemned by the United Nations.
The Tamil family settled in a small rural Queensland town of Biloela, where their neighbors have banded together to push for them to be allowed to remain, a campaign that has received support even from some right-wing commentators and politicians.
A Federal Court judge ruled last month there was enough evidence for the toddler’s case to go to trial, though a date has not yet been set.
Both children were born in Australia but do not have citizenship. They have never been to Sri Lanka.
Australia rejects UN call to release Tamil family
Australia rejects UN call to release Tamil family
- The family is held at the Christmas Island detention facility
- Their two children were born in Australia
Rohingya refugees hope new leaders can pave a path home
- Some 1.7 million Rohingya Muslims displaced in Myanmar's military crackdown live in squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh: Rohingya refugees living in squalid camps in Bangladesh have elected a leadership council, hoping it can improve conditions and revive efforts to secure their return home to Myanmar.
Spread over 8,000 acres in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, the camps are home to 1.7 million members of the stateless group, many of whom fled a 2017 military crackdown that is now subject to a genocide probe at the UN court.
In July, the refugees held their first elections since their influx began eight years ago, resulting in the formation of the United Council of Rohang (UCR).
“They are working to take us home,” said Khairul Islam, 37, who back home had a thriving timber business.
The new council has brought him a glimmer of hope amid an uncertain future.
“We can hardly breathe in these cramped camp rooms... all our family members live in a single room,” he said.
“It’s unbearably hot inside. Back in Myanmar, we didn’t even need a ceiling fan. In summer, we used to sit under tall trees,” Islam said, his eyes welling up.
More than 3,000 voters from across 33 refugee camps cast their ballots to elect an executive committee and five rotating presidents to focus on human rights, education and health.
Addressing a gathering at one of the camps, UCR president Mohammad Sayed Ullah urged refugees not to forget the violence that forced the mostly Muslim group to flee Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
“Never forget that we left our parents’ graves behind. Our women died on the way here. They were tortured and killed... and some drowned at sea,” said Sayed Ullah, dressed in a white full-sleeved shirt and lungi.
“We must prepare ourselves to return home,” he said, prompting members of the audience to nod in agreement.
A seat at the table
“UCR wants to emerge as the voice of the Rohingyas on the negotiation table,” Sayed Ullah later told AFP.
“It’s about us, yet we were nowhere as stakeholders.”
The council is not the first attempt to organize Rohingya refugees.
Several groups emerged after 2017, including the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, once led by prominent activist Mohib Ullah.
But he was murdered in 2021.
And even before that, many organizations were shut down after a major 2019 rally, when the Rohingya said they would go home only with full rights and safety guarantees.
“Some newspapers misrepresented us, claiming we wanted to stay permanently in Bangladesh,” Sayed Ullah said.
“Many organizers were detained. The hardest blow was the assassination of Mohib Ullah.”
But trust is slowly building up again among the Rohingya crammed in the camps in Cox’s Bazar.
“Of course we will return home,” said 18-year-old Mosharraf, who fled the town of Buthidaung with his family.
“UCR will negotiate for better education. If we are better educated, we can build global consensus for our return,” he told AFP.
Security threats
Many refugees have started approaching the body with complaints against local Rohingya leaders, reflecting a slow but noticeable shift in attitudes.
On a recent sunny morning, an AFP reporter saw more than a dozen Rohingya waiting outside the UCR office with complaints.
Some said they were tortured while others reported losing small amounts of gold they had carried while fleeing their homes.
Analysts say it remains unclear whether the new council can genuinely represent the Rohingya or if it ultimately serves the interests of Bangladeshi authorities.
“The UCR ‘elections’ appear to have been closely controlled by the authorities,” said Thomas Kean, senior consultant at the International Crisis Group.
Security threats also loom large, undermining efforts to forge political dialogue.
Armed groups like the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and Rohingya Solidarity Organization continue to operate in the camps.
A report by campaign group Fortify Rights said at least 65 Rohingyas were killed in 2024.
“Violence and killings in the Rohingya camps need to stop, and those responsible must be held to account,” the report quoted activist John Quinley as saying.
