UN turns up heat on Gillard's refugee solution

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has attacked Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard's latest attempt to deflect asylum seekers from landing on Australian soil.

Speaking before a packed audience in Sydney's Town Hall, Navi Pillay was fiercely critical of the Australian Government's recent deal with Malaysia, saying it was in violation of the international refugee convention.

Pillay said that because Malaysia has not ratified the commonly held conventions on torture or refugees, Australia was effectively dealing with a partner that remains unbound in its obligations.

The Commissioner urged Australians to reject the proposed deal. "Australians or people who uphold refugee standards internationally should not collaborate with these types of schemes, " she said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard's government made public its intention to strike a deal with Malaysia to take 800 refugees, picked up in boats heading for the Australian coast.

The deal has been lambasted from all sides of the inflamed ' boat people' debate in Australia. The final details of the deal are yet to be made public, reinforcing concerns that the Labor government is devising policy on-the-run.

The ongoing deal will reportedly see Australia accept and resettle 4,000 apparently genuine Burmese refugees who are currently being processed in Malaysia's sub-standard detention centers.

More than 100 asylum seekers have arrived in Australia since the working agreement was announced. The Australian Government is yet to confirm where their refugee claims will be processed. The method and location of processing claims has attracted the attention of human rights groups and earned the ire of Ms Pillay.

Australia's mandatory detention policy - both off-shore and in detention centers located in Sydney and in isolated regional high- security facilities continues to attract criticism from the UNHCR.

Most detainees are held at the offshore facilities like the notorious Christmas Island detention center which has been the scene of violent riots and breakouts since November last year.

While the number of refugees arriving in Australia is negligible, especially in comparison to European states who have borne the brunt of the recent North African upheaval, the issue continually inflames passions on all sides of the political spectrum.

Pillay said the thoughts of a sympathetic audience by suggesting the Federal Government had waylaid its fundamental responsibilities somewhere in the heat of the debate.

"The first option should not be how best to turn away people, the first option should be how to receive people." she said.

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