Tag: Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Stuart McMillan, president of the Uniting Church in Australia, is encouraging Uniting Church members to give generously to the Uniting Church Syrian Refugee Appeal.

“Like all of you I have been shocked and moved in recent weeks by the plight of those fleeing Syria and Iraq,” Stuart said.

“The personal tragedies and struggles we see in the nightly news are heart breaking. But they are just the tip of the iceberg. The scale of the humanitarian crisis that is occurring is truly  overwhelming. Every day thousands of people are seeking refuge with little other than the clothes on their backs.

“They join more than four million who’ve fled this conflict in the last four years.

The President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Stuart McMillan, has welcomed the Federal Government’s offer of permanent resettlement to over 12,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.

“We welcome the Federal Government’s timely and appropriate response to the plight of the Syrian refugees,” said Stuart.

“The overwhelming scale of the human tragedy has demanded this level of response.

“The persecution of religious minorities, including Christians, has been most grave. It is right for Australia to welcome refugees regardless of their religion or ethnicity.

“I thank the many Uniting Church members who have rallied alongside thousands of others around the country for their persistent advocacy over the last week.

“I sincerely hope we are seeing the dawn of a more compassionate, bipartisan humanitarian approach to people seeking asylum in Australia.”

National Director of UnitingJustice, Rev Elenie Poulos, has called the announcement a positive step in the right direction.

The Uniting Church in Australia is today calling on the Government to commit to a significant increase in Australia’s refugee intake as a response to the crisis in Syria.

“While we welcome the Federal Government’s commitment to increase our refugee intake from Syria, the scale of this crisis requires a much greater response,” said Stuart McMillan, president of the Uniting Church in Australia.

“I am pleased that politicians and political parties across the country are recognising that Australia has a moral duty to respond to the Syrian refugee crisis.

“We have seen the human face of this tragedy and we can no longer turn our backs.

“As one of the wealthiest and most secure countries in the world, we have an obligation to respond generously,” said Stuart.

The Uniting Church is renewing its call for the immediate closure of the Nauru detention centre after another damning report into the centre’s operations.

The Senate Select Committee’s report released on Monday describes a disturbing lack of transparency and accountability about what is happening in the centre. It raises serious issues about the safety and wellbeing of people and concludes that the detention centre is ‘not adequate, appropriate or safe’ for asylum seekers.

Mr Stuart McMillan, president of the Uniting Church in Australia said, “It is Australia’s moral responsibility to ensure that asylum seekers are safe in these centres. But they are not safe. How many reports and allegations of the abuse and sexual assault of women and children do we need before the Government takes action?”

“The Uniting Church has long been calling on the Australian Government to close the detention centre on Nauru and bring everyone to Australia. The Government should act immediately on the Committee’s recommendation that all children and their families be released,” said Stuart.

The Uniting Church in Australia is one of more than 100 Australian organisations calling for an immediate moratorium on transfers to immigration detention facilities on Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

The call by churches, human rights groups, aid agencies, faith-based organisations and others follows the case of a five year-old girl who attempted to commit suicide after an extended period of detention on Nauru.

“The plight of this poor young girl is a tragic example of the damage the Australian Government is doing by sending asylum seekers into such unsafe, harsh environments,” said Rev Elenie Poulos, national director of UnitingJustice Australia.