Some refugees face such unexpected racism in Australia that they wish they never came.
“Whether it concerns education, employment, social environments, including sport, or even access to services, racism has a very significant impact on the lives of refugees,” he said. said Adama Kamara, deputy director general of the Refugee Council.
“Some tell me they had a very long journey to get here, if they had known what it would have been like they might not have come.”
An anti-racism report from the Australian Human Rights Commission, billed as the most comprehensive plan in the country’s history, was delivered to the federal government on Tuesday.
It calls for a number of major legal and policy changes, such as the introduction of a national framework with 10-year commitments that include recognition of the “systemic and structural nature of racism” and the “historical and ongoing impacts of colonization on the First Nations”. peoples.”
Among the 63 recommendations, the framework calls for political accountability, which Kamara says is vital for refugees’ livelihoods.
“We have seen time and time again how refugees are used for political football,” Kamara said.
“It is to the detriment of commitments in terms of human rights but also of the lives of refugees. All these actions are counterproductive for a society of belonging.”
The council has heard countless stories of people from the African diaspora experiencing racism in the streets, which Kamara said is linked to the way police, media and politicians talk about Sudanese communities and the alleged link to the increase in crime.
“These comments have caused a lot of damage to the way communities view themselves,” Kamara said.
She said the Government now faced the task of tackling the problem head on and not backing away from “difficult conversations”.
“I would like this not to be an election issue, because then it’s about winning votes and not about people’s lives.”
The committee also calls for the introduction of a national human rights law and the addition of a positive duty clause to the Racial Discrimination Act, requiring businesses and employers to implement anti-discrimination policies.
The framework would also include an agreed national definition of racism against Indigenous people.
One of the report’s key recommendations is that the federal government lead a national response to racism, starting with truth and self-determination for Indigenous peoples.
This would include anti-racism lessons in schools and enshrining the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Australian law.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Mark Dreyfus congratulated the commissioner and said the government would implement the recommendations.
“No Australian should be targeted because of who they are or what they believe,” he said.
“Australians should be able to live their lives without fear of being attacked or treated differently because of their race.”
