Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Last week saw two major rulings against democratic nations over their treatment of asylum seekers.
In one case, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) published an historic judgement condemning the Greek government for conducting systematic migrant pushbacks and ordered compensation for a woman who had been forcibly returned to Turkey despite her attempts to seek protection.
At the same time, the UN Human Rights Committee found Australia violated the rights of asylum seekers arbitrarily detained in Nauru – a small Pacific island northwest of the country used for off-shore processing of claims.
Both Greece and Australia are accused of violating international law.
But while Greece must comply with the ECHR's decision, Australia rejected the UN committee's ruling claiming the abuses fell outside its jurisdiction, despite being the result of a hardline policy introduced by the Australian government over a decade ago.
