Briefing reporters in Geneva, UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards said the agency would be concerned by any policy or practice that involved pushing asylum-seeker boats back at sea without a proper consideration of individual needs for protection.
“Any such approach would raise significant issues and potentially place Australia in breach of its obligations under the [1951] Refugee Convention and other international law obligations,” said Edwards.
As past experience had shown, such practices were also operationally difficult and potentially dangerous for all concerned, he added.
Instead of a policy of push-backs, UNHCR continues to recommend that efforts be made to strengthen regional cooperation on the basis of solidarity and responsibility-sharing which build on national asylum systems.
“UNHCR supports investment in a regional cooperation framework in South East Asia, and recognizes the work of the Bali Process States in addressing protection and humanitarian needs in mixed migration flows in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
Adrian Edwards, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR. Photo: UNIFEED