Australia-Pacific: Offending human dignity - the "Pacific Solution"

This report describes some of the developments since the Tampa incident, which coincided with a global backlash against asylum seekers following the 11 September 2001 attacks in the USA, and examines the issues at stake in the policy followed by the Australian government since then. The report includes a number of recommendations, including a call on the government to end the arbitrary detention of asylum seekers and refugees, as currently practised or funded by Australia. It also calls for government resources in refugee host countries to be concentrated on sharing - not shifting - responsibilities for refugee movements, and on addressing their root causes rather than just the symptoms.