wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Arbitrary detention of refugees a worsening problem,

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8957 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05544
Oct. 11, 2005

Arbitrary detention of refugees
a worsening problem, church group says	

by Ecumenical News International

GENEVA - More and more governments, rich and poor, are using arbitrary
detention to punish and deter refugees and asylum seekers, a World Council of
Churches group has told the United Nations agency that deals with displaced
people.  
   
	"The freedom to seek asylum is seriously undermined by the threat of
arbitrary detention," the WCC group said in a statement released on Oct. 5
after presentation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  
  
	The practice of detaining asylum-seekers and other migrants has
increased significantly in northern countries since the 2001 terror attacks
in the United States, but the problem also involves countries in other parts
of the world, said the WCC Global Ecumenical Network on Uprooted Peoples.  
  
	It pointed to countries in Africa such as Botswana, Zimbabwe and
South Africa that automatically detain people who have not passed through
formal border controls.  
  
	"In Zimbabwe, police sweeps have been directed against undocumented
migrants, including asylum-seekers. There is considerable concern at the
violence and brutality with which such crackdowns are carried out," the
network said.  
  
	The group also noted that most countries of the Middle East have not
signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, and that migrants without legal papers
are at a high risk of detention in the region.	 
  
	It said Malaysia is "perhaps the most flagrant example" of repressive
crackdowns against migrants. According to the report, Malaysia has enlisted
civilian volunteers and offered rewards for captures of undocumented migrants
- "a 'bounty' that encourages vigilantism," the WCC group said.  
  
	And in countries such as Canada, which have what were described as
"more selective" detention policies, asylum-seekers are still
disproportionately targeted for confinement on the grounds of flight risk,
the report said.  
  
	The group noted "welcome changes and pragmatic flexibility" in
Australia, which for many years had been "one of the most enthusiastic
practitioners of mandatory, indefinite and non-reviewable detention." 
  
	The report added: "The widespread use of discourses of national
security and 'the war on terror' to justify detention practices has created
an adverse climate for churches to persuade national governments to heed
their concerns."

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