The Australian Human Rights Commission has called the Australian Government to consider expanding Australia’s refugee resettlement program with a specific Afghan intake.

The Australia Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has expressed “serious concerns” about human rights in Afghanistan and the effect of the situation there on Afghan communities in Australia.

AHRC President Rosalind Croucher met with Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews to raise concerns about the safety of Australians, Australian visa holder, and family members of Afghan-Australians still in Afghanistan.

The AHRC has urged the Government to consider expanding Australia’s refugee resettlement program with a specific Afghan intake.

It has also written the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Alex Hawke MP.

Professor Croucher said the AHRC welcomed the Government’s allocation of 3,000 places to Afghan nationals within Australia’s refugee resettlement program and noted that the Government has said this figure is a floor, not a ceiling.

She said nations comparable to Australia, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, have announced that they will resettle 20,000 Afghan refugees, and Australia should similarly consider expanding its intake.

“The intake should prioritise family members of Afghans in Australia, and members of groups that are at particular risk of persecution in Afghanistan – including the Hazara, women and girls, and LGBTIQ people,” Prof Croucher said.

She the AHRC held further concerns about the change in circumstances for Afghan asylum seekers and refugees in Australia, including those who are on temporary protection visas (TPVs) and safe haven enterprise visas (SHEVs), and those in immigration detention.

“We have asked for an urgent reassessment of all Afghan asylum seekers who have not received a positive protection finding, in light of the changed conditions.” Prof Croucher said.

“The Commission notes that there are currently 55 Afghans in closed immigration detention facilities, including refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom have faced extensive periods of detention with material impacts on their mental health,” she said.

“I commend the Government’s recent announcement that no Afghans will be asked to return to Afghanistan while the security situation remains dire.

“Given there are no real prospects of them returning to Afghanistan for the foreseeable future, the Commission has also urged the Commonwealth to consider their release into the community, where possible, and with appropriate conditions if necessary.”

Prof Croucher said the AHRC had raised the matter of the approximately 4,000 Afghan TPV and SHEV holders in Australia, and had asked the Commonwealth to consider granting them permanent protection in light of the changed circumstances.

Many Afghan TPV and SHEV holders in Australia are part of the ‘legacy caseload’, asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by boat prior to 1 January 2014, who are treated differently from other groups of asylum seekers and have faced lengthy delays in the processing of their substantive visa applications.

The ANRC’s 2019 report, ‘Lives on Hold’, examined the human rights concerns facing asylum seekers and refugees in the legacy caseload and Australia’s compliance with its international human rights obligations.

See the report here: https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/asylum-seekers-and-refugees/publications/lives-hold-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-legacy