Afghanistan refugee crisis: five urgent demands

In recognition of the immediate and urgent crisis confronting Afghan asylum-seekers and refugees and their families – in Afghanistan, in Australia and elsewhere in the world (in particular in Indonesia), RAC Vic calls on the Australian government to:

(i) immediately grant permanent visas to all Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers on temporary protection and bridging visas;

(ii) to release, and grant visas to Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers in detention and similarly bring to Australia and grant visas to any Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers on Nauru and in PNG;

(iii) to immediately begin the processing, and organise the urgent transport necessary to bring the families of all Afghan refugees to Australia;

(iv) to end Australia’s ban on accepting Afghan refugees from Indonesia;

(v) to immediately create a special category intake of at least 20,000 Afghan refugees, over and above the annual humanitarian intake, to include all those currently in Indonesia.

(These demands were adopted unanimously by an online forum of 220 people organised by RAC Sydney and supported by RAC Vic on 16 August 2021.)