15 Henley Rd
(PO Box 2219)
Homebush West,
NSW 2140
AUSTRALIA
Ph: (02) 8762 4200
Fx: (02) 8762 4220
Int'l Ph: +61 2 8762 4200
Int'l Fx: +61 2 8762 4220
Email: erc@erc.org.au
Located just 100 metres to the south of Flemington Railway Station. Link to new location on Google Maps
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Deported to Danger Reports: 2004 - 2006 - Research Methodology
The Edmund Rice Centre reports on the fate of Australia's rejected asylum seekers are based on personal interviews.
In 2003-4 research staff interviewed 40 rejected asylum seekers.
In 2006, research staff interviewed 41 asylum seekers, 36 for the first time and 5 for the second time.
This brings the total number of formal interviews to 81. So far we have made contact with over 200 people from 19 countries.
To provide comparable information, interviews were conducted on a standardized format.
Where possible we sought corroborative material evidence to check the returnee’s story.
Where we could not find this and to control for any possible collusive fabrication, we looked to see if the pattern of an account was mirrored in independent interviews with other returnees in similar situations.
We have also checked the internal consistency of each account given us, a strategy also used by the Refugee Review Tribunal in assessing credibility.
We are satisfied that our data provide a reliable case for the Government to answer.
We have also drawn on reliable accounts from deportee contacts and expert respondents in Australia.
This is an on-going study.
Latest News: (1) Climate change summit: ERC & PCP in Copenhagen (2) New Just Comment published: No More Torture (3) Ongoing: Support ERC´s Deportations Research
Copenhagen, 7 - 18 Dec 2009
Lilla International Women's Network Read more
ERC staff are part of the Pacific Calling Partnership (PCP) group visiting Kiribati, 7th to 16th Oct 2009, in preparation for the joint Australia-Kiribati PCP delegation in December to the UN's Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change.
PCP wants voices from low-lying Pacific Island communities to be heard because it is these people that are already facing the consequences of climate change through sea-encroachment into their communities. Further details
The next informal discussion gathering of ATftF will focus further on the lead up the Copenhagen UNFCCC Summit to be held in December. All welcome: 2pm to 4pm, Tues 27th Oct at ERC's library. Further details
In association with the support of short-term women interns in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, the Lilla Women's Network is celebrating the launch of a directory of services in Chiapas that provide services to women.
The directory (in Spanish) can be viewed on the Lilla website.
ERC continues liaison with the Dept of Immigration in regard to the reopening of the cases of those asylum seekers who Australia sent back into situations of danger.
Interest remains strong within the community from those concerned with Australia's dismal track record of recent years in our treatment of asylum seekers.
There is a strong and continued stream of expressions of support for the case presented by ERC in the documentary A Well Founded Fear. We have received a number of representations calling for SBS TV to rebroadcast the programme. ERC will liaise with the documentary's producers and with SBS in this regard.
Sign petition to Minister of Immigration to reopen cases of those deported to danger.
ERC's success in mounting a coherent argument for the reopening of the cases of those asylum seekers that Australia has deported to danger, has been based on rigorous research in situ in the countries to which these people were returned.
Such work has high levels of risk for our researchers and for the deportees. We are committed to accompanying these vulnerable people to achieve safety. In many cases their treatment by Australia has placed them at greater risk than when they were first forced to flea their place of origin.
The results of this research conducted by ERC Director Phil Glendenning and colleagues has been published in two reports: Deported to Danger. Information about the research and copies of the reports are available here.
The unique nature of this human rights research work means that it does not qualify for most sources of funding from agencies. The work can therefore only be continued through your support. To donate please go to our donations page.
Donations for this ERC work are tax deductible!
ERC is concerned for the ongoing situation of the civilian population of northern Sri Lanka effected by the armed conflict that has caused dramatically increased consequences for the people over the past twelve months.
The Sri Lankan Government's narrow focus on armed enforcement appears to carry no concern to the underlying causes of the conflict. There is little attention being paid to the calls for equity from the Tamil minority and for protection from persecution and discrimination at the hands of the Buddhist Sinhalese majority.
ERC condemns the violence and terror of the LTTE Tamil Tigers, but also laments the repression of the Tamil population.
The refusal of the Sri Lankan Government to allow respected international aid and media organisations open access to the conflict areas and to the concentration camps of Tamils displaced by the violence, serves only to lend validity to the reports that violent repression and state terror are being by perpetrated upon the Tamil population by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. More information.
