The Human Rights Law Centre is calling on the Albanese Government to repatriate all Australian nationals still held in detention camps in Syria, after Save The Children recently warned it would be forced to commence legal action if the Government failed to act.

Many Australians have remained trapped in the camps for four years, away from their homes and relatives in Australia, despite other countries taking steps to repatriate their nationals from Syria.  

The United Nations has reported that young boys in the camps are at risk of being removed from their families and placed in men’s or adult prisons, as 17-year-old Yusuf Zahab was before he died in a Syrian camp. Before his death, he and his family had begged the Australian Government to bring him home.     

All Australian nationals have the right to return to Australia. The rights and protections of citizenship cannot depend on the whims of governments. The Albanese Government’s failure to act earlier has cost lives and put other lives at risk. 

Save the Children are preparing to launch a legal challenge if the Albanese Government does not act immediately to bring the remaining Australians home.

Josephine Langbien, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said:   

“The Australians trapped in Syrian camps have been held for four years in dire conditions while others around them were repatriated. They have a right to come home, and they should not have to resort to litigation to force their own government to bring them back. 

“The Albanese Government must take responsibility for the safety of its citizens and ensure that no more lives are lost. All of these people, children and adults alike, deserve a future. They must be brought home to their families and communities in Australia.” 

Image credit: Orlok on Shutterstock

Media contact:
Michelle Bennett
Engagement Director
0419 100 519
michelle.bennett@hrlc.org.au