The 23 Australian children stuck in Syria are not responsible for their parents. They need our government’s support to return |
Ever since news broke that 34 Australians were leaving Roj camp in north-east Syria to travel to Australia, their status and travel plans have been at the centre of a political maelstrom. The Albanese government has insisted there would be no repatriation of the 11 Australian women and their 23 children, whose journey was halted on 16 February when they were sent back to the detention camp.
The newly minted opposition under Angus Taylor has demanded answers to the level of assistance the Albanese government has provided to the group, including the issuing of passports, and the Coalition has now proposed new Australian laws to criminalise non-government financial and logistical support that helps the families return to Australia.
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International law is clear as to the rights of persons to enter their own country, with article 12 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights providing “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country”. Exceptional measures can be taken in times of public emergency, such as those adopted during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when a temporary exclusion was placed on Australians returning from India.
One of the 34 in Roj camp has been determined by the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, on the basis of Asio and security agencies advice, to meet the legal threshold for a temporary exclusion order (as a person........