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Refugee Council of Australia
RCOA is the national umbrella body for refugees and the organisations and individuals who support them. It has more than 130 organisational members and 250 individual members. In July 2009, RCOA was granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This status enables RCOA to participate in a variety of UN fora. To go to the RCOA website – click here
Get Involved
Their website has a massive list of volunteer opportunities with a range of organisations/groups. To read - click here
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Australian Human Rights Commission
Read the 2009 Report which contains a summary of observations by the Australian Human Rights Commission following its July 2009 visit to Australia’s immigration detention facilities on Christmas Island. “The Commission has ongoing concerns – one of the most critical being the mandatory detention and offshore processing of asylum seekers on Christmas Island.” To read this report – click here
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A Short Stay on Christmas Island
Amnesty International gives an overview of life on Christmas Island. ”The people being detained on Christmas Island are real. They are men, women and children who have come to our shores seeking refuge from persecution – and should be treated accordingly”. To read this article – click here
Don’t use asylum seekers as political footballs
Sign the Amnesty petition and send a message to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Citizenship – click here
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Refugee Camp in Your City
Médecins Sans Frontières aka Doctors Without Borders has created a Virtual Refugee Camp. It places in context the basic needs of people who, because of conflict or disaster, find themselves in a refugee camp. Check out their programs – click here
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Refugee Action Collective
Refugee Action Collective is a grassroots movement in Victoria that actively campaigns for the rights of asylum seekers. The site’s Resources section offers a range of ‘Myth Busting’ articles. To check them out - click here
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Human Rights Overboard
Winner of the Literature Non-Fiction Award of The Australian Human Rights Commission’s annual Human Rights Medals and Awards.
‘”Human Rights Overboard is an important and moving book which deserves to be widely read and discussed.” - Law Institute of Victoria
‘”This book reveals and confirms, in detail, all the fears you may have held about immigration detention in Australia over the past 15 years.” - Civil Liberty
“The verdict, frankly, is nothing short of horrific. This book reveals something systematically rotten. Not isolated incidents, but a repressive structure … The information gathered is so compelling, so relentless, and derived from so many diverse accounts in different parts of Australia, that accusations of bias must be crushed under its weight.” - Australian Literary Review
To read more – click here
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Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Since opening their doors in June 2001, the ASRC has become the largest provider of aid, advocacy and health services for asylum seekers in Australia. They work directly with asylum seekers, both living in our community and detention, to provide direct aid and support as they seek refugee status in Australia. ASRC also campaign and lobby on behalf of asylum seekers and all Australians who want to change the unjust policies that Australia has adopted. ASRC is based in Melbourne. To see what they do or apply as a volunteer - click here
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