(Sydney)- AustraliaThe Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese must deliver on election pledges relating to all rights and urgent climate reforms, Refugees policy, and First Nations justice, Human Rights Watch said today. The Labor Party won the parliamentary election a year ago on May 21, 2022.
“While the Albany government has made some improvements on human rights issues, serious concerns remain that need to be addressed swiftly,” said Sophie McNeil, senior Australia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Calls on the Albanian government to take immediate, concrete steps to phase out fossil fuels, reduce the incarceration of First Nations people, and uphold Australia’s international legal obligations to people in custody, refugees and asylum seekers Needed.”
In July 2022, Prime Minister Albanese joined the leaders of the Pacific Islands in Fiji Announcement A climate emergency and a commitment to limit global warming to 1.5°C. However, while Albany has Gov. legislated A target of 43 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 has been given critical support For the development of renewable energy sector, the government is still actively supporting Expansion of fossil fuel industries in Australia. The federal budget announced earlier in May 2023 showed that the government is subsidy Fossil fuel industry with billions of dollars every year.
the government continued to deny Any responsibility For emissions generated by the vast quantities of coal and gas that Australia exports as one of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers. Environment Minister on 12 May allowed a new coal mine rejected Request for reconsideration of approval for three more coal mine projects or expansions. This is in stark contrast to earlier warnings by the United Nations, the International Energy Agency and the world’s leading climate scientists, who have said that no new investment in oil can be sustained to protect lives, livelihoods and the environment from ever-increasing risks. gas, and coal.
In February, the government of Albania fulfilled a key election pledge regarding the treatment of asylum seekers by allowing thousands of refugees living in Australia on “temporary protection visas” to apply for permanent residency and citizenship.
While the government has released many asylum seekers who have spent over a decade in Australian immigration detention, statistics May 2023 shows there are still 130 immigrant detainees who have been held for more than 5 years.
AND WHEREAS the Albany government continues its brutal, costly and illegal policy of offshore processing of asylum seekers, allocation AU$1.5 billion (US$1 billion) over the next four years to fund offshore operations.
The “turn-back” policy of stopping boats and summarily turning them into the open sea or returning people to countries of departure or origin continues, with the Albanian government turning or pushing back. eight boats since taking office.
the government has not yet delivered on a electoral commitment To increase Australia’s annual refugee intake to 27,000 places.
In February, the United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture Cancelled A visit to Australia to inspect detention facilities after being denied full access to institutions in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. Abolished inspection means Australia failed to uphold its treaty obligations under optional protocol to the convention against tortureWhich the country ratified in 2017.
Before the election, the Labor Party Mortgage to reduce the over-incarceration of First Nations children who are currently 20 times are more likely to be jailed than non-Indigenous children, and also supported a review of the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
In November, the Northern Territory Government passed a law Raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years. In April, the state of Victoria Committed To apply the same increment. Human Rights Watch said that the Albanian government should prioritize efforts to ensure all states and territories in Australia raise the internationally accepted 14-year age of criminal responsibility.
Albanian government did not do Provide emergency funding to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) in the May federal budget, which suspended vital legal services for Indigenous peoples new South Wales And Queensland, ATSILS Said that demand for its services has increased by up to 100 percent over the past five years, while core funding from the federal government has declined in real terms.
“Ambitious, bold policies are needed to address the growing climate emergency and decades of mistreatment of refugees and First Nations people in Australia,” McNeill said. “The Albanian government must prioritize these urgent domestic rights reforms to enable Australia to become a true human rights leader in the region.”